Sample records for freight documents

... TRANSPORTATION 117-TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT Shipping Freight § 102-117.180 What transportation documents must I use to ship freight? To ship freight: (a) By land (domestic shipments), use a bill of lading; (b) By... documents must I use to ship freight? 102-117.180 Section 102-117.180 Public Contracts and...

This standard details the correct methods of lifting and handling Series 1 freight containers following ISO-3874 and ISO-1496. The changes within RPP-40736 will allow better reading comprehension, as well as correcting editorial errors.

Freight Wing Incorporated utilized the opportunity presented by this DOE category one Inventions and Innovations grant to successfully research, develop, test, patent, market, and sell innovative fuel and emissions saving aerodynamic attachments for the trucking industry. A great deal of past scientific research has demonstrated that streamlining box shaped semi-trailers can significantly reduce a truck's fuel consumption. However, significant design challenges have prevented past concepts from meeting industry needs. Market research early in this project revealed the demands of truck fleet operators regarding aerodynamic attachments. Products must not only save fuel, but cannot interfere with the operation of the truck, require significant maintenance, add significant weight, and must be extremely durable. Furthermore, SAE/TMC J1321 tests performed by a respected independent laboratory are necessary for large fleets to even consider purchase. Freight Wing used this information to create a system of three practical aerodynamic attachments for the front, rear and undercarriage of standard semi trailers. SAE/TMC J1321 Type II tests preformed by the Transportation Research Center (TRC) demonstrated a 7% improvement to fuel economy with all three products. If Freight Wing is successful in its continued efforts to gain market penetration, the energy and environmental savings would be considerable. Each truck outfitted saves approximately 1,100 gallons of fuel every 100,000 miles, which prevents over 12 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere. If all applicable trailers used the technology, the country could save approximately 1.8 billion gallons of diesel fuel, 18 million tons of emissions and 3.6 billion dollars annually.

This paper summarises the historical development of railway freight vehicles and how vehicle designers have tackled the difficult challenges of producing running gear which can accommodate the very high tare to laden mass of typical freight wagons whilst maintaining stable running at the maximum required speed and good curving performance. The most common current freight bogies are described in detail and recent improvements in techniques used to simulate the dynamic behaviour of railway vehicles are summarised and examples of how these have been used to improve freight vehicle dynamic behaviour are included. A number of recent developments and innovative components and sub systems are outlined and finally two new developments are presented in more detail: the LEILA bogie and the SUSTRAIL bogie.

... From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Federal Highway Administration Establishment of the National Freight Network Correction In notice document 2013-02580 appearing on pages 8686-8689, in the issue of Wednesday, February 6, 2013, make...

The Freight Network Equilibrium Model (FNEM) was developed to study potential coal transportation impacts that could result from widespread conversion of boilers to use coal for fuel, as mandated under the Powerplant and Industrial Fuel Use Act of 1978. Continued improvement of FNEM and creation of auxiliary software and data during applications of the model in various transportation analyses led to the development of the Freight Network Modeling System, a general and flexible modeling system designed to have wide applicability to a variety of freight transportation analyses. It consists of compatible network data bases, data management software, models of freight transportation, report generators, and graphics output. The network data include US rail, water, highway, and pipeline systems. Data management software automates the task of setting up a study network of appropriate detail in appropriate regions of the country. The major analytical tools in the system are FNEM and Shortest Path Analysis and Display (SPAD); FNEM is predictive and simulates decisions of both shippers and carriers, taking into account the competition for transportation facilities; SPAD is a simpler model that optimizes routings of single shipments. Output for both FNEM and SPAD includes detailed routings, cost and delay estimates for all shipments, and data on total traffic levels. SPAD can be used interactively with routes displayed graphically. 13 references, 10 figures, 2 tables.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) contracted with IHS Global, Inc. (IHS) to analyze the relationship between the value of industrial output, physical output, and freight movement in the United States for use in updating analytic assumptions and modeling structure within the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) freight transportation module, including forecasting methodologies and processes to identify possible alternative approaches that would improve multi-modal freight flow and fuel consumption estimation.

Japan and Germany will operate first generation Maglev passenger systems commercially shortly after 2000 A.D. The United States Maglev systems will require sophisticated freight and passenger carrying capability. The U.S. freight market is larger than passenger transport. A proposed advanced freight and passenger Maglev Project in Brevard County Florida is described. Present Maglev systems cost 30 million dollars or more per mile. Described is an advanced third generation Maglev system with technology improvements that will result in a cost of 10 million dollars per mile.

A survey is presented of some of the approaches which have been considered in freight demand estimation. The few existing continuous time computer simulations of aviation systems are reviewed, with a view toward the assessment of this approach as a tool for structuring air freight studies and for relating the different components of the air freight system. The variety of available data types and sources, without which the calibration, validation and the testing of both modal split and simulation models would be impossible are also reviewed.

Actions of the Civil Aeronautics Board in determining air freight rates are discussed. The tariff filings by domestic airlines for making basic changes in domestic fares and rates are reported. The roles of the carriers and the Civil Aeronautics Board in establishing freight rates are defined. Specific examples of areas of controversy in establishing freight rates are included. Methods for improving the air cargo and freight rate situation are proposed.

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Air freight forwarders. 47... MANAGEMENT TRANSPORTATION Air Transportation by U.S.-Flag Carriers 47.404 Air freight forwarders. (a) Agencies may use air freight forwarders that are engaged in international air transportation (49...

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Air freight forwarders. 47... MANAGEMENT TRANSPORTATION Air Transportation by U.S.-Flag Carriers 47.404 Air freight forwarders. (a) Agencies may use air freight forwarders that are engaged in international air transportation (49...

... Federal Highway Administration Establishment of the National Freight Network AGENCY: Federal Highway... of the national freight network as required by Section 1115 of the Moving Ahead for Progress in the... freight network, the designation of additional miles critical to future efficient movement of goods on...

The role of air cargo in the current transportation system in the United States is explored. Methods for assessing the future role of this mode of transportation include the use of continuous-time recursive systems modeling for the simulation of different components of the air freight system, as well as for the development of alternative future scenarios which may result from different policy actions. A basic conceptual framework for conducting such a dynamic simulation is presented within the context of the air freight industry. Some research needs are identified and recommended for further research. The benefits, limitations, pitfalls, and problems usually associated with large scale systems models are examined.

Intercity freight transportation accounts for about 25% of the transportation fuel use in the United States. Because they are petroleum-dependent, trucks, railroads, aircraft, and marine vessels are vulnerable to disruptions in oil supplies. In modeling the effects of rising fuel prices during an oil shortfall, it was found that the modal preferences of shippers will shift - generally in the direction of aircraft to trucks, trucks to railroads, and railroads to marine vessels - as the higher fuel coats are reflected in higher freight rates. Allowing fuel prices to rise to an equilibrium or market-clearing level not only causes a shift to more energy-efficient modes of freight transportation, but it also provides the carriers with an incentive to conserve fuel in order to reduce costs. A maximum reduction in fuel demand of 4 to 8% (depending on the mode) can be achieved by freight carriers in an emergency without drastically curtailing service and retarding economic recovery. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is considered to be a significant national asset that would distinguish future fuel-supply interruptions from those of the past. Recommendations are provided to supplement reliance on equilibrium fuel prices and the SPR during any future petroleum shortfall.

Greenhouse gas emissions from international air transport were excluded from reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol, partly because of difficulties with quantifying and apportioning such emissions. Although there has been a great deal of recent research into calculating emissions from aeroplane operations globally, publicly available emissions factors for air freight emissions are scarce. This paper presents a methodology to calculate the amount of fuel burnt and the resulting CO 2 emissions from New Zealand's internationally air freighted imports and exports in 2007. This methodology could be applied to other nations and/or regions. Using data on fuel uplift, air freight and air craft movements, and assumptions on mean passenger loadings and the mass of passengers and air freight, CO 2 emissions factors of 0.82 kg CO 2 per t-km and 0.69 kg CO 2 per t-km for short-haul and long-haul journeys, respectively, were calculated. The total amount of fuel consumed for the international air transport of New Zealand's imports and exports was calculated to be 0.21 Mt and 0.17 Mt respectively, with corresponding CO 2 emissions of 0.67 Mt and 0.53 Mt.

Heavy duty diesel freight trucks are the fastest growing source of highway emissions in the U.S., with domestic freight tonnage projected to double by 2050. Highway diesel vehicles currently account for 42% of on-road emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx), 58% of on-road fine particulate (PM2.5) emissions, and 21% of on-road carbon dioxide emissions. Because most surface air quality monitors are located in densely populated areas and not rural highways, it is difficult to use ground-based observations to validate spatial trends in transportation emissions. Therefore, we have employed satellite retrievals from the OMI instrument to inform surface freight transportation inventory estimates by validating modeled tropospheric vertical column total nitrogen dioxide (NO2) against satellite observations. For this research we built a roadway-by-roadway bottom-up diesel truck emissions inventory using GIS, the U.S. Federal Highway Administration's Freight Analysis Framework (FAF) activity dataset, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's MOVES emissions model. We use freight rail emissions from the Eastern Regional Technical Advisory Committee (ERTAC), inventory emissions from the Lake Michigan's Air Directors Consortium (LADCO) and the EPA's Community Multiscale Air Qualiy (CMAQ) model to simulate ground-level and tropospheric column concentrations of NO2. We also use the combination of models and satellite data to evaluate weekday-weekend patterns of NO2 concentrations and the relative contributions of highway diesel vehicles, highway gasoline vehicles, and freight rail to transportation-related pollution. This research presents the first evaluation of surface freight transport from space-based observations. We find satellite retrievals of surface pollutants provide a useful data tool for evaluating air quality models and constraining emissions sources.

In the paper results of computer-aided strength analysis of the modernized freight wagon based on Finite Element Method are presented. CAD model of the considered freight wagon was created and its strength was analysed in agreement with norms described the way of such kind of freight wagons testing. Then, the model of the analysed freight wagon was modernized by adding composite panels covering the inner surface of the vehicle body. Strength analysis was carried out once again and obtained results were juxtaposed. This work was carried out in order to verify the influence of composite panels on the strength of the freight car body and to estimate the possibility of reducing the steel shell thickness of the box in order to reduce weight of the freight wagon.

Ground vibration from heavy freight trains on good quality welded track are found to have only a weak dependence on train speed above 30 km/h. At the site on which these tests were carried out a critical speed was found at which the vibration reached a peak. The frequencies of vibration produced appear to be functions of track and vehicle dimensions and the critical speed occurs at the coincidence of sleeper passage frequency and the total vehicle on track resonance frequency.

This paper describes a development of national freight demand models for 27 industry sectors covered by the 2002 Commodity Flow Survey. It postulates that the national freight demands are consistent with U.S. business patterns. Furthermore, the study hypothesizes that the flow of goods, which make up the national production processes of industries, is coherent with the information described in the 2002 Annual Input-Output Accounts developed by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The model estimation framework hinges largely on the assumption that a relatively simple relationship exists between freight production/consumption and business patterns for each industry defined by the three-digit North American Industry Classification System industry codes (NAICS). The national freight demand model for each selected industry sector consists of two models; a freight generation model and a freight attraction model. Thus, a total of 54 simple regression models were estimated under this study. Preliminary results indicated promising freight generation and freight attraction models. Among all models, only four of them had a R2 value lower than 0.70. With additional modeling efforts, these freight demand models could be enhanced to allow transportation analysts to assess regional economic impacts associated with temporary lost of transportation services on U.S. transportation network infrastructures. Using such freight demand models and available U.S. business forecasts, future national freight demands could be forecasted within certain degrees of accuracy. These freight demand models could also enable transportation analysts to further disaggregate the CFS state-level origin-destination tables to county or zip code level.

This report examines the relative energy efficiency of the different modes of freight transportation. It finds that in terms of energy per ton-mile, oil pipelines are easily the most efficient of the modes of transportation considered. Inland barges rank second, although for some uses railroads are of comparable efficiency. Trucks use more energy than railroads, and cargo planes are at the bottom of the efficiency range. But these simplified comparisons must be modified in several ways, such as specialized functions, service levels, speed, terrain, and the nature of the cargo. 44 references, 22 tables.

... 49 Transportation 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Special notice for repairs-railroad freight car...—railroad freight car. (a) When an FRA Motive Power and Equipment Inspector or a State Equipment Inspector determines that a railroad freight car is not in conformity with the requirements of the FRA Freight...

... 49 Transportation 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Special notice for repairs-railroad freight car...—railroad freight car. (a) When an FRA Motive Power and Equipment Inspector or a State Equipment Inspector determines that a railroad freight car is not in conformity with the requirements of the FRA Freight...

... 49 Transportation 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Special notice for repairs-railroad freight car...—railroad freight car. (a) When an FRA Motive Power and Equipment Inspector or a State Equipment Inspector determines that a railroad freight car is not in conformity with the requirements of the FRA Freight...

... 49 Transportation 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Special notice for repairs-railroad freight car...—railroad freight car. (a) When an FRA Motive Power and Equipment Inspector or a State Equipment Inspector determines that a railroad freight car is not in conformity with the requirements of the FRA Freight...

Freight Wing Incorporated utilized the opportunity presented by a DOE category two Inventions and Innovations grant to commercialize and improve upon aerodynamic technology for semi-tuck trailers, capable of decreasing heavy vehicle fuel consumption, related environmental damage, and U.S. consumption of foreign oil. Major project goals included the demonstration of aerodynamic trailer technology in trucking fleet operations, and the development and testing of second generation products. A great deal of past scientific research has demonstrated that streamlining box shaped semi-trailers can significantly reduce a truck’s fuel consumption. However, significant design challenges have prevented past concepts from meeting industry needs. Freight Wing utilized a 2003 category one Inventions and Innovations grant to develop practical solutions to trailer aerodynamics. Fairings developed for the front, rear, and bottom of standard semi-trailers together demonstrated a 7% improvement to fuel economy in scientific tests conducted by the Transportation Research Center (TRC). Operational tests with major trucking fleets proved the functionality of the products, which were subsequently brought to market. This category two grant enabled Freight Wing to further develop, test and commercialize its products, resulting in greatly increased understanding and acceptance of aerodynamic trailer technology. Commercialization was stimulated by offering trucking fleets 50% cost sharing on trial implementations of Freight Wing products for testing and evaluation purposes. Over 230 fairings were implemented through the program with 35 trucking fleets including industry leaders such as Wal-Mart, Frito Lay and Whole Foods. The feedback from these testing partnerships was quite positive with product performance exceeding fleet expectations in many cases. Fleet feedback also was also valuable from a product development standpoint and assisted the design of several second generation products

In this paper, the collision-induced derailment of freight trains was investigated. The collision between two identical freight trains occurring on a curved path rather than along a straight line was investigated. This is because from the point of view of safety against derailment this collision scenario is thought to be more critical than the scenarios defined in the European standard EN 15227. In this work, one of the trains is stationary and the other moving train collides at 36 km/h. Two kinds of container wagons were simulated. One is the two-axle freight wagon Kls 442. Another is the freight wagon Rmms 662 with two Y25 bogies. Simulation results demonstrate that in terms of safety against derailment the bogie wagon Rmms 662 was found to have better behaviour than the two-axle wagon Kls 442. In addition, this study points out that there are many contributory factors to the responses of freight wagons during a collision, such as curve radius, distance between bogie pivots and loading mass. The derailment phenomenon is less likely to occur, when freight trains collide on the curve with a larger radius. Besides that the characteristics of freight wagons with large axle loads, low centre of gravity of car body and appropriate static strength are favourable for the collided wagons in reducing the risk of derailment.

A research project on the future of U.S. domestic air freight operations was conducted. The two main subjects of the project were: (1) during the 1965 to 1969 time period, when the airlines introduced jet freighters into domestic service and air freight traffic growth continued at a high rate, what strategies were employed by management and with what results and (2) what are the opportunities and problems confronting the domestic air freight industry during the 1970 and 1980 time period. The results of the analysis are presented in the form of graphs and tables.

The Freight Shuttle System (FSS) is designed to provide freight transportation services between those short and intermediate distance locations (within 600 miles) that are currently handling large volumes of freight traffic. Much like trucks, the FSS's transporters are autonomous: each transporter has its own propulsion and travels independently of other transporters. Inspired by railroads, each FSS transporter has steel wheels operating on a steel running surface and can carry either a standardsize freight container or an over-the-road truck trailer. However, unlike either rail or trucks, the FSS runs on an elevated, dedicated guideway to avoid the interference of other transportation systems. The objective of this report is to examine the potential viability for an alternative transportation system for trailers and containers in a multi-national, cross-border setting. The El Paso-Ciudad Juarez region serves as the environment of this analysis.

This tape contains a copy of a computer program for the prediction of fuel consumption of a freight train operated over track with known characteristics. The program is written in FORTRAN for the IBM VM/370 computer.

Diesel freight vehicles (trucks + trains) are responsible for 20% of all U.S. nitrogen oxide (NOx) and 3% of fine particulate (PM2.5) emissions - pollutants that are harmful to human health. Freight tonnage is also projected to double over the next several decades, reaching 30 billion tons by 2050, increasing freight transport activity. Air quality impacts from increased activity, trade-offs between activity and vehicle technology improvements, as well as where to make infrastructure investments that encourage sustainable freight growth, are important considerations for transportation and air quality managers. To address these questions, we build a bottom-up roadway-by-roadway freight truck inventory (WIFE) and employ it to quantify emissions impacts of swapping biodiesel blends into the Midwest diesel freight truck fleet, and investigate emissions and air quality impacts of truck-to-rail freight modal shifts in the Midwest. We also evaluate the spatial and seasonal freight performance of WIFE modeled in a regional photochemical model (CMAQ) against satellite retrievals of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI). Results show that spatial and seasonal distribution of biodiesel affects regional emissions impacts. Summer high-blend deployment yields a larger annual emissions reduction than year-round low-blend deployment, however, technological improvements in vehicle emissions controls between 2009 and 2018 dwarf the impacts of biodiesel. Truck-to-rail modal shift analysis found 40% of daily freight truck VMT could be shifted to rail freight, causing a 26% net reduction in NOx emissions, and 31% less carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Despite significant emissions impacts, air quality modeling results showed mostly localized near roadway air quality improvements, with small regional net changes; yet, federal regulation of CO2 emissions and/or rising costs of diesel fuel could motivate shifting freight to more fuel efficient rail. Evaluation of

This article focuses on prevention of possible exposure to chemical agents, when opening, entering, and stripping freight containers. The container purging process is investigated using tracer gas measurements and numerical airflow simulations. Three different container ventilation conditions are studied, namely natural, mixed mode, and forced ventilation. The tests conducted allow purging time variations to be quantified in relation to various factors such as container size, degree of filling, or type of load. Natural ventilation performance characteristics prove to be highly variable, depending on environmental conditions. Use of a mechanically supplied or extracted airflow under mixed mode and forced ventilation conditions enables purging to be significantly accelerated. Under mixed mode ventilation, extracting air from the end of the container furthest from the door ensures quicker purging than supplying fresh air to this area. Under forced ventilation, purging rate is proportional to the applied ventilation flow. Moreover, purging rate depends mainly on the location at which air is introduced: the most favourable position being above the container loading level. Many of the results obtained during this study can be generalized to other cases of purging air in a confined space by general ventilation, e.g. the significance of air inlet positioning or the advantage of generating high air velocities to maximize stirring within the volume. PMID:25636319

Heavy freight trains emit ground vibration with predominant frequency components in the range 4-30 Hz. If the amplitude is sufficient, this may be felt by lineside residents, giving rise to disturbance and concern over possible damage to their property. In order to establish the influence of parameters of the track and rolling stock and thereby enable the design of a low vibration railway, a theoretical model of both the generation and propagation of vibration is required. The vibration is generated as a combination of the effects of dynamic forces, due to the unevenness of the track, and the effects of the track deformation under successive axle loads. A prediction scheme, which combines these effects, has been produced. A vehicle model is used to predict the dynamic forces at the wheels. This includes the non-linear effects of friction damped suspensions. The loaded track profile is measured by using a track recording coach. The dynamic loading and the effects of the moving axles are combined in a track response model. The predicted track vibration is compared to measurements. The transfer functions from the track to a point in the ground can be calculated by using a coupled track and a three-dimensional layered ground model. The propagation effects of the ground layers are important but the computation of the transfer function from each sleeper, which would be required for a phase coherent summation of the vibration in the ground, would be prohibitive. A compromise summation is used and results are compared with measurements.

... are available to ship freight? 102-117.170 Section 102-117.170 Public Contracts and Property... TRANSPORTATION 117-TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT Shipping Freight § 102-117.170 What reference materials are available to ship freight? (a) The following is a partial list of handbooks and guides available from...

... 117-TRANSPORTATION MANAGEMENT Shipping Freight § 102-117.165 What shipping process must I use for freight? Use the following shipping process for freight: (a) For domestic shipments you must: (1) Identify... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false What shipping...

The paper discusses the practical issues involved in constructing intermodal freight networks that can be used within GIS platforms to support inter-regional freight routing and subsequent (for example, commodity flow) analysis. The procedures described can be used to create freight-routable and traffic flowable interstate and intermodal networks using some combination of highway, rail, water and air freight transportation. Keys to realistic freight routing are the identification of intermodal transfer locations and associated terminal functions, a proper handling of carrier-owned and operated sub-networks within each of the primary modes of transport, and the ability to model the types of carrier services being offered.

...) notice, which was published on November 19, 2013, at 78 FR 69520. The original comment period is set to..., except Federal holidays. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background On November 19, 2013, at 78 FR 69520, the... TRANSPORTATION Federal Highway Administration Designation of the Primary Freight Network AGENCY: Federal...

Regarding the problems in the reform of the railway tariff system and the pricing of the transport, by means of assaying the influence of the price elasticity on the artifice used for price, this article proposed multiple regressive model which analyzed price elasticity quantitatively. This model conclude multi-factors which influences on the price elasticity, such as the averagely railway freight charge, the averagely freight haulage of proximate supersede transportation mode, the GDP per capita in the point of origin, and a series of dummy variable which can reflect the features of some productive and consume demesne. It can calculate the price elasticity of different classes in different domains, and predict the freight traffic volume on different rate levels. It can calculate confidence-level, and evaluate the relevance of each parameter to get rid of irrelevant or little relevant variables. It supplied a good theoretical basis for directing the pricing of transport enterprises in market economic conditions, which is suitable for railway freight, passenger traffic and other transportation manner as well. SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Science) software was used to calculate and analysis the example. This article realized the calculation by HYFX system(Ministry of Railways fund).

The inspection of very large objects like sea freight containers with X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) is an emerging technology. A complete 3-D CT scan of a see-freight container takes several hours. Of course, this is too slow to apply it to a large number of containers. However, the benefits of a 3-D CT for sealed freight are obvious: detection of potential threats or illicit cargo without being confronted with legal complications or high time consumption and risks for the security personnel during a manual inspection. Recently distinct progress was made in the field of reconstruction of projections with only a relatively low number of angular positions. Instead of today's 500 to 1000 rotational steps, as needed for conventional CT reconstruction techniques, this new class of algorithms provides the potential to reduce the number of projection angles approximately by a factor of 10. The main drawback of these advanced iterative methods is the high consumption for numerical processing. But as computational power is getting steadily cheaper, there will be practical applications of these complex algorithms in a foreseeable future. In this paper, we discuss the properties of iterative image reconstruction algorithms and show results of their application to CT of extremely large objects scanning a sea-freight container. A specific test specimen is used to quantitatively evaluate the image quality in terms of spatial and contrast resolution and depending on different number of projections.

The inspection of very large objects like sea freight containers with X-ray Computed Tomography (CT) is an emerging technology. A complete 3-D CT scan of a see-freight container takes several hours. Of course, this is too slow to apply it to a large number of containers. However, the benefits of a 3-D CT for sealed freight are obvious: detection of potential threats or illicit cargo without being confronted with legal complications or high time consumption and risks for the security personnel during a manual inspection. Recently distinct progress was made in the field of reconstruction of projections with only a relatively low number of angular positions. Instead of today’s 500 to 1000 rotational steps, as needed for conventional CT reconstruction techniques, this new class of algorithms provides the potential to reduce the number of projection angles approximately by a factor of 10. The main drawback of these advanced iterative methods is the high consumption for numerical processing. But as computational power is getting steadily cheaper, there will be practical applications of these complex algorithms in a foreseeable future. In this paper, we discuss the properties of iterative image reconstruction algorithms and show results of their application to CT of extremely large objects scanning a sea-freight container. A specific test specimen is used to quantitatively evaluate the image quality in terms of spatial and contrast resolution and depending on different number of projections.

Trends in transportation sector energy use and carbon dioxide emissions are analyzed with an emphasis on three freight modes -- rail, truck, and marine. A recent set of energy use projections is presented and freight mode energy characteristics are discussed. Transportation sector energy use, which nearly doubled between 1960 and 1985, is projected to grow more slowly during the period 1985{endash}2010. Most of the growth is projected to come from non-personal modes (freight and commercial air). Trends in freight mode energy intensities are discussed and a variety of factors behind these trends are analyzed. Rail and marine modes improved their energy intensities during sudden fuel price rises of the 1970s. Though there is room for further technological improvement, long power plant life cycles preclude rapid penetration of new technologies. Thus, energy intensities in these modes are more likely to improve through operational changes. Because of relatively stable fuel prices, the energy share of truck operating expenses is likely to remain low. Coupled with increasing labor costs, this portends only modest improvements in truck energy efficiency over the next two decades.

Trends in transportation sector energy use and carbon dioxide emissions are analyzed with an emphasis on three freight modes -- rail, truck, and marine. A recent set of energy use projections is presented and freight mode energy characteristics are discussed. Transportation sector energy use, which nearly doubled between 1960 and 1985, is projected to grow more slowly during the period 1985{endash}2010. Most of the growth is projected to come from non-personal modes (freight and commercial air). Trends in freight mode energy intensities are discussed and a variety of factors behind these trends are analyzed. Rail and marine modes improved their energy intensities during sudden fuel price rises of the 1970s. Though there is room for further technological improvement, long power plant life cycles preclude rapid penetration of new technologies. Thus, energy intensities in these modes are more likely to improve through operational changes. Because of relatively stable fuel prices, the energy share of truck operating expenses is likely to remain low. Coupled with increasing labor costs, this portends only modest improvements in truck energy efficiency over the next two decades.

As the number of freight trains on railway networks increases, so does the potential for vibration exposure in dwellings nearby to freight railway lines. Nocturnal trains in particular are of particular importance since night-time exposure may interfere with sleep. The present work investigates the impact of vibration and noise from night-time freight trains on human sleep. In an experimental polysomnographic laboratory study, 24 young healthy volunteers with normal hearing were exposed to simulated freight pass-bys with vibration amplitudes of 0.7 and 1.4 mm/s either 20 or 36 times during the night. Stronger vibrations were associated with higher probabilities of event-related arousals and awakenings (p freight affects the natural rhythm of sleep, but extrapolation of significance for health outcomes should be approached with caution. PMID:27090401

As the number of freight trains on railway networks increases, so does the potential for vibration exposure in dwellings nearby to freight railway lines. Nocturnal trains in particular are of particular importance since night-time exposure may interfere with sleep. The present work investigates the impact of vibration and noise from night-time freight trains on human sleep. In an experimental polysomnographic laboratory study, 24 young healthy volunteers with normal hearing were exposed to simulated freight pass-bys with vibration amplitudes of 0.7 and 1.4 mm/s either 20 or 36 times during the night. Stronger vibrations were associated with higher probabilities of event-related arousals and awakenings (p freight affects the natural rhythm of sleep, but extrapolation of significance for health outcomes should be approached with caution. PMID:27090401

The demand for freight transportation has continued to increase due to the growth of domestic and international trade. Emissions from ground freight (truck and railways) account for around 7% of the greenhouse gas emissions, 4% of the primary particulate matter emission and 25% of the NOx emissions in the U.S. Freight railways are generally more fuel efficient than trucks and cause less congestion. Freight demand and emissions are affected by many factors, including economic activity, the spatial distribution of demand, freight modal choice and routing decision, and the technology used in each modal type. This work links these four critical aspects of freight emission system to project the spatial distribution of emissions and pollutant concentration from ground freight transport in the U.S. between 2010 and 2050. Macroeconomic scenarios are used to forecast economic activities. Future spatial structure of employment and commodity demand in major metropolitan areas are estimated using spatial models and a shift-share model, respectively. Freight flow concentration and congestion patterns in inter-regional transportation networks are predicted from a four-step freight demand forecasting model. An asymptotic vehicle routing model is also developed to estimate delivery ton-miles for intra-regional freight shipment in metropolitan areas. Projected freight activities are then converted into impacts on air quality and climate. CO2 emissions are determined using a simple model of freight activity and fuel efficiency, and compared with the projected CO2 emissions from the Second Generation Model. Emissions of air pollutants including PM, NOx and CO are calculated with a vehicle fleet model SPEW-Trend, which incorporates the dynamic change of technologies. Emissions are projected under three economic scenarios to represent different plausible futures. Pollutant concentrations are then estimated using tagged chemical tracers in an atmospheric model with the emissions serving

Under the current economic climate it is expected that any new high-speed rail line in the US would be constructed as a public/private partnership, requiring substantial private investment, and thus the expectation of reasonable profits. To date, proposed high-speed rail lines have failed to attract sufficient investment to create any new starts, in great part due to the conclusion that these systems would not likely cover their capital and operating costs and also provide reasonable profit for investors. Studies of the economic potential of US high-speed rail lines have commonly considered them as passenger carriers only, depending solely on ridership as a source of revenue. Yet is likely that significant revenue potential exists for carrying higher value freight as well--perhaps enough to substantially improve the economic viability of certain high-speed operations. Some basic technical aspects of carrying freight on high-speed rail lines are presented, along with an analysis to estimate the quantity of freight that may be technically practical, and thus potentially economically viable, for a high-speed train to carry.

... Department of the Army Change to the Military Freight Carrier Registration Program (FCRP) AGENCY: Department... provider (TSP) registrations during the FCRP open season which will run 1 September through 30 November... services, utilizing an open season for freight motor carrier registration, allows SDDC to...

... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 2 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Net Weight-General Freight....247-10 Net Weight—General Freight. As prescribed in 47.207-4(a)(2), insert the following clause in solicitations and contracts for transportation or for transportation-related services when the weight...

... must consist of red or black letters on a white background that is at least 30 cm (11.8 inches) wide... section, not including 49 CFR part 387, a rail car, freight container, truck body, or trailer in which the... freight container. For domestic transportation, a hazard warning label authorized by EPA under 40 CFR...

... the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) concerning persons acting as a broker or a freight forwarder. Section 32915 of MAP-21 requires anyone acting as a broker or a freight... President signed MAP-21 (Pub. L. 112-141, 126 Stat. 405 (2012)) into law, which included a number...

... for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), Public Law 112-141. DATES: The meeting will be held on... will provide an overview of MAP-21 freight provisions and an update of the Department's progress... freight@dot.gov with your name and affiliation no later than June 18, 2013, in order to facilitate...

... notice regarding our public dockets in the January 17, 2008, issue of the Federal Register (73 FR 3316... SECURITY Coast Guard Cargo Securing Methods for Packages in Transport Vehicles or Freight Containers AGENCY... the public on methods for securing cargo in transport vehicles and freight containers in order...

Daimler Trucks North America completed a five year, $79.6M project to develop and demonstrate a concept vehicle with at least 50% freight efficiency improvement over a weighted average of several drive cycles relative to a 2009 best-in-class baseline vehicle. DTNA chose a very fuel efficient baseline vehicle, the 2009 Freightliner Cascadia with a DD15 engine, yet successfully demonstrated a 115% freight efficiency improvement. DTNA learned a great deal about the various technologies that were incorporated into Super Truck and those that, through down-selection, were discarded. Some of the technologies competed with each other for efficiency, and notably some of the technologies complemented each other. For example, we found that Super Truck’s improved aerodynamic drag resulted in improved fuel savings from eCoast, relative to a similar vehicle with worse aerodynamic drag. However, some technologies were in direct competition with each other, namely the predictive technologies which use GPS and 3D digital maps to efficiently manage the vehicles kinetic energy through controls and software, versus hybrid which is a much costlier technology that essentially targets the same inefficiency. Furthermore, the benefits of a comprehensive, integrated powertrain/vehicle approach was proven, in which vast improvements in vehicle efficiency (e.g. lower aero drag and driveline losses) enabled engine strategies such as downrating and downspeeding. The joint engine and vehicle developments proved to be a multiplier-effect which resulted in large freight efficiency improvements. Although a large number of technologies made the selection process and were used on the Super Truck demonstrator vehicle, some of the technologies proved not feasible for series production.

This paper deals with the study of running dynamic effects for a partially filled railway tank vehicle. A computational fluid dynamics model in 2D is established and used to define the motion of the sloshing fluid and the forces generated on the tank, for curving conditions typical of railway freight transport. From these results, an equivalent mechanical model is identified which is able to correctly reproduce the forces generated on the tank. Finally, a mathematical model is defined for the entire freight car, including the bogies with primary suspensions, the tank and a discrete number of equivalent models positioned at different places along the longitudinal axis of the tank. This model is used to simulate the dynamics of the tank for a variety of curve geometries, train speeds and fill levels. By these simulations, derailment and rollover risks are evaluated and the most critical conditions for running safety are defined. Results show that sloshing can increase significantly the risk of tank rollover whereas its influence on the risk of derailment is minor.

Freight transportation demand is projected to grow to 27.5 billion tons in 2040, and to nearly 30.2 billion tons in 2050. This report describes the current and future demand for freight transportation in terms of tons and ton-miles of commodities moved by truck, rail, water, pipeline, and air freight carriers. It outlines the economic, logistics, transportation, and policy and regulatory factors that shape freight demand, the trends and 2050 outlook for these factors, and their anticipated effect on freight demand. After describing federal policy actions that could influence future freight demand, the report then summarizes the capabilities of available analytical models for forecasting freight demand. This is one in a series of reports produced as a result of the Transportation Energy Futures project, a Department of Energy-sponsored multi-agency effort to pinpoint underexplored strategies for reducing GHGs and petroleum dependence related to transportation.

.... Stenciling 215.301Failure to stencil car number and built date on freight car as required. 215.303Failure to stencil restricted car as required. 215.305Failure to stencil maintenance-of-way equipment as required....

.... Stenciling 215.301Failure to stencil car number and built date on freight car as required. 215.303Failure to stencil restricted car as required. 215.305Failure to stencil maintenance-of-way equipment as required....

.... Stenciling 215.301Failure to stencil car number and built date on freight car as required. 215.303Failure to stencil restricted car as required. 215.305Failure to stencil maintenance-of-way equipment as required....

.... Stenciling 215.301Failure to stencil car number and built date on freight car as required. 215.303Failure to stencil restricted car as required. 215.305Failure to stencil maintenance-of-way equipment as required....

... destination. Other types of services may include, but are not limited to, multi-trip voyage charters... its shipping agent, shall be notified by the Department of the vessel freight rate used in...

... classification and (2) the hazardous material description and hazard class as shown in 49 CFR 172.101. (d) The... the rating applicable to the freight classification description published in the National...

A brief analysis is made of the hub and spoke air freight distribution system which would employ less than 15 hub centers world wide with very large advanced distributed-load freighters providing the line-haul delivery between hubs. This system is compared to a more conventional network using conventionally-designed long-haul freighters which travel between numerous major airports. The analysis calculates all of the transportation costs, including handling charges and pickup and delivery costs. The results show that the economics of the hub/spoke system are severely compromised by the extensive use of feeder aircraft to deliver cargo into and from the large freighter terminals. Not only are the higher costs for the smaller feeder airplanes disadvantageous, but their use implies an additional exchange of cargo between modes compared to truck delivery. The conventional system uses far fewer feeder airplanes, and in many cases, none at all. When feeder aircraft are eliminated from the hub/spoke system, however, that system is universally more economical than any conventional system employing smaller line-haul aircraft.

The traffic investigation is one of the most important parts of an Environmental Impact Statement of projects involving the construction of new roadway facilities and/or the improvement of existing ones. The focus of the traffic analysis is on the determination of anticipated traffic flow characteristics of the proposed project, by the application of analytical methods that can be grouped under the umbrella of capacity analysis methodologies. In general, the main traffic parameter used in EISs to describe the quality of traffic flow is the Level of Service (LOS). The current state of the practice in terms of the traffic investigations for EISs has two main shortcomings. The first one is related to the information that is necessary to conduct the traffic analysis, and specifically to the lack of integration among the different transportation models and the sources of information that, in general, reside in GIS databases. A discussion of the benefits of integrating CRS&SI technologies and the transportation models used in the EIS traffic investigation is included. The second shortcoming is in the presentation of the results, both in terms of the appearance and formatting, as well as content. The presentation of traffic results (current and proposed) is discussed. This chapter also addresses the need of additional data, in terms of content and coverage. Regarding the former, other traffic parameters (e.g., delays) that are more meaningful to non-transportation experts than LOS, as well as additional information (e.g., freight flows) that can impact traffic conditions and safety are discussed. Spatial information technologies can decrease the negative effects of, and even eliminate, these shortcomings by making the relevant information that is input to the models more complete and readily available, and by providing the means to communicate the results in a more clear and efficient manner. The benefits that the application and use of CRS&SI technologies can provide to

The Freight Network Modeling System (FNEM) is a general and flexible modeling system designed to have wide applicability to a variety of freight transportation analyses. The system consists of compatible network data bases, data management software, models of freight transportation, report generators, and graphics output. In many studies, a model as comprehensive as FNEM is not required. The second model, Shortest-Path Analysis and Display (SPAD), is a simpler model that optimizes routings of single shipments. The routing criteria that can be used are numerous - including minimizing cost, minimizing delay, minimizing population exposure (useful when considering shipments of hazardous materials), and minimizing accident risk. In addition to the above criteria, the routes can also be restricted to those with clearance for oversized loads or with sufficient load capabilities. SPAD can be used interactively and the routes can be displayed graphically. This volume contains a user's guide for SPAD including preprocessor programs and SPAD execution. 7 figs., 19 tabs.

Railway freight center location problem is an important issue in railway freight transport programming. This paper focuses on the railway freight center location problem in uncertain environment. Seeing that the expected value model ignores the negative influence of disadvantageous scenarios, a robust optimization model was proposed. The robust optimization model takes expected cost and deviation value of the scenarios as the objective. A cloud adaptive clonal selection algorithm (C-ACSA) was presented. It combines adaptive clonal selection algorithm with Cloud Model which can improve the convergence rate. Design of the code and progress of the algorithm were proposed. Result of the example demonstrates the model and algorithm are effective. Compared with the expected value cases, the amount of disadvantageous scenarios in robust model reduces from 163 to 21, which prove the result of robust model is more reliable. PMID:25435867

As advanced freight service is demanded, the time related requirements fo r freight transportation becomes more and more significant. This study, focusing on temporal distribution of freight transportation responding to the travel time, developed a shipment departure time decision model for each item, aiming at quantitatively grasping social requirement in the time domain. The model takes account of the daily work cycle of both work cy cles of shippers and carriers along with the travel time. The proposed model has a similar structure as that derived from the previous studies taking account of the daily living cycle of individuals. This model properly reproduced temporal distribution of shipment departure time that changes depending on the length of necessary lead time for each item.

An approach is presented to marketing analysis for lighter than air vehicles in a commercial freight market. After a discussion of key characteristics of supply and demand factors, a three-phase approach to marketing analysis is described. The existing transportation systems are quantitatively defined and possible roles for lighter than air vehicles within this framework are postulated. The marketing analysis views the situation from the perspective of both the shipper and the carrier. A demand for freight service is assumed and the resulting supply characteristics are determined. Then, these supply characteristics are used to establish the demand for competing modes. The process is then iterated to arrive at the market solution.

We present an examination of the potential emissions and air quality benefits of shifting freight from truck to rail in the upper Midwestern United States. Using a novel, freight-specific emissions inventory (the Wisconsin Inventory of Freight Emissions, WIFE) and a three-dimensional Eulerian photochemical transport model (the Community Multiscale Air Quality Model, CMAQ), we quantify how specific freight mode choices impact ambient air pollution concentrations. Using WIFE, we developed two modal shift scenarios: one focusing on intraregional freight movements within the Midwest and a second on through-freight movements through the region. Freight truck and rail emissions inventories for each scenario were gridded to a 12 km × 12 km horizontal resolution as input to CMAQ, along with emissions from all other major sectors, and three-dimensional time-varying meteorology from the Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF). The through-freight scenario reduced monthly mean (January and July) localized concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) by 28% (-2.33 ppbV) in highway grid cells, and reduced elemental carbon (EC) by 16% (-0.05 μg/m(3)) in highway grid cells. There were corresponding localized increases in railway grid cells of 25% (+0.83 ppbV) for NO2, and 22% (+0.05 μg/m(3)) for EC. The through-freight scenario reduced CO2 emissions 31% compared to baseline trucking. The through-freight scenario yields a July mean change in ground-level ambient PM2.5 and O3 over the central and eastern part of the domain (up to -3%). PMID:24004244

... cars. 174.61 Section 174.61 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation PIPELINE AND... containers on flat cars. (a) A transport vehicle, freight container, or package containing a hazardous... has fuel or any article classed as a hazardous material may be loaded and transported on a flat car...

... cars. 174.61 Section 174.61 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation PIPELINE AND... containers on flat cars. (a) A transport vehicle, freight container, or package containing a hazardous... has fuel or any article classed as a hazardous material may be loaded and transported on a flat car...

College seniors in a geography of marketing and distribution course learn about spatial optimizing techniques by participating in a freight distribution game. Students plan the distribution of confectionery from two factories in England to 20 wholesale and retail customers in Scotland. The team that designs the lowest cost system wins. (RM)

... cars. 174.61 Section 174.61 Transportation Other Regulations Relating to Transportation PIPELINE AND... containers on flat cars. (a) A transport vehicle, freight container, or package containing a hazardous... has fuel or any article classed as a hazardous material may be loaded and transported on a flat car...

The principal tasks performed by conductors, rear brakemen, and head brakemen during over-the-road freight operations are identified and described in the report. Forty-four tasks and subtasks are analyzed and grouped into six categories: basic handling tasks, prerun preparation and starting off tasks, over-the-road tasks, terminating tasks,…

... Administration prescribes commercial zones at Subpart B of 49 CFR part 372); and (2) An allowance for freight... stated in the solicitation, to any Government-designated point located within the same city or commercial... the Government delivered— (i) On board the indicated type or conveyance of the carrier (or of...

Commission of the European Communities, Brussels (Belgium). Directorate-General for Education, Training, and Youth.

Continuous vocational training (CVT) in the road freight and passenger transport sectors in the member states of the European Community (EC) was examined to identify exemplary and significant practices across the EC and determine the extent of the transferability of the identified exemplary training between and among the member states. In all,…

Despite the fact that rail freight transport is one of the most environmentally friendly matters of transport, its growth has been far behind the growth of freight transport in general. Studies showed that a competitive disadvantage is caused by a low availability of rolling stock, especially freight wagons. Changing from a time based to a condition based maintenance strategy is believed to decrease down times by at least one third. To make condition based maintenance for freight wagons possible the TU Berlin and five industry partners started the research project CargoCBM. One task in this project is to develop algorithms for the automatic on-board diagnosis of wheel flats. The focus of the work is on the process of feature generation and feature selection as well as the application of different classifiers to automatically evaluate the data. Based on the results of measured data, features were selected and tested with different classifiers. Thought advanced classifiers such as neural networks have been analysed in accordance to their classification accuracy. It can be shown that with carefully constructed and selected features comparatively simple classifiers can lead to excellent results.

Journalists and other investigators are daily using declassified government documents to shed light on historical and current events, but few have discovered how to tap the wealth of documents once classified but now in the public realm. An executive order from President Reagan eliminating declassification procedures and allowing released…

In this study, we examined 11 workplaces to determine how they handle termination documentation, an empirically unexplored area in technical communication and rhetoric. We found that the use of termination documentation is context dependent while following a basic pattern of infraction, investigation, intervention, and termination. Furthermore,…

Most schemes for the accreditation (e.g. United Kingdom Accreditation Service) and certification (e.g. BS EN ISO 9002) of laboratories include a requirement to establish and maintain procedures for the management and control of documents generated internally. Such documents include policy statements, procedures, specifications, and some notices and memoranda. Organisations benefit from using agreed and approved information and from knowing that staff are using agreed and approved methods in their operating procedures. Document control systems are likely to become compulsory as accreditation schemes, such as Clinical Pathology Accreditation (CPA) for clinical microbiology laboratories, align with international standards. The Technical Services Division (TSD) in PHLS Headquarters has been developing a control system for various documents that it issues to the PHLS and control of documentation that forms the TSD quality system. The document control system has recently developed into a document management system that provides a mechanism for managing all documents generated or received by the division. TSD's approach is described here to provide laboratories and other organisations with ideas for how they could set up or develop their own document management system to improve accessibility to information. PMID:10598395

Ton-miles is a commonly used measure of freight transportation output. Estimation of ton-miles in the U.S. transportation system requires freight flow data at disaggregated level (either by link flow, path flows or origin-destination flows between small geographic areas). However, the sheer magnitude of the freight data system as well as industrial confidentiality concerns in Census survey, limit the freight data which is made available to the public. Through the years, the Center for Transportation Analysis (CTA) of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been working in the development of comprehensive national and regional freight databases and network flow models. One of the main products of this effort is the Freight Analysis Framework (FAF), a public database released by the ORNL. FAF provides to the general public a multidimensional matrix of freight flows (weight and dollar value) on the U.S. transportation system between states, major metropolitan areas, and remainder of states. Recently, the CTA research team has developed a methodology to estimate ton-miles by mode of transportation between the 2007 FAF regions. This paper describes the data disaggregation methodology. The method relies on the estimation of disaggregation factors that are related to measures of production, attractiveness and average shipments distances by mode service. Production and attractiveness of counties are captured by the total employment payroll. Likely mileages for shipments between counties are calculated by using a geographic database, i.e. the CTA multimodal network system. Results of validation experiments demonstrate the validity of the method. Moreover, 2007 FAF ton-miles estimates are consistent with the major freight data programs for rail and water movements.

The Notre Dame Aerospace Engineering senior class was divided into six design teams. A request for proposals (RFP) asking for the design of a remotely piloted vehicle (RPV) was given to the class, and each design team was responsible for designing, developing, producing, and presenting an RPV concept. The RFP called for the design of commercial freight transport RPV. The RFP provided a description of a fictitious world called 'Aeroworld'. Aeroworld's characteristics were scaled to provide the same types of challenges for RPV design that the real world market provides for the design of commercial aircraft. Fuel efficiency, range and payload capabilities, production and maintenance costs, and profitability are a few of the challenges that were addressed in this course. Each design team completed their project over the course of a semester by designing and flight testing a prototype, freight-carrying remotely piloted vehicle.

This paper applies a geospatial network optimization model to explore environmental, economic, and time-of-delivery tradeoffs associated with the application of marine vessels as substitutes for heavy-duty trucks operating in the Great Lakes region. The geospatial model integrates U.S. and Canadian highway, rail, and waterway networks to create an intermodal network and characterizes this network using temporal, economic, and environmental attributes (including emissions of carbon dioxide, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, volatile organic compounds, and nitrogen oxides). A case study evaluates tradeoffs associated with containerized traffic flow in the Great Lakes region, demonstrating how choice of freight mode affects the environmental performance of movement of goods. These results suggest opportunities to improve the environmental performance of freight transport through infrastructure development, technology implementation, and economic incentives. PMID:20681436

Imagine a world where boxes talk to containers, containers talk to trucks and trucks talk to forklifts that talk to people. Each box would be smart, carrying all the information about its contents, its shipping history, its handling instructions, and where it is supposed to be. This world is within our reach as a result of Web 2.0 innovations on the Internet. While technologies such as RFID, GPS, cellular phones and barcodes have become ever more prevalent in the freight supply chain, there is still an invisible curtain blocking information flow between proprietary and legacy enterprise systems. Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are working with academia, the U.S. Government, and commercial companies to apply Web 2.0 technologies to the challenge of tracking and monitoring hazardous materials and nuclear sources in the international supply chain. Under the rubric of Tracking 2.0, a term for the use of Web 2.0 technologies for tracking applications, ORNL is developing a prototype called IntelligentFreight. IntelligentFreight interfaces sensors, legacy databases, and proprietary commercial tracking systems. The prototype combines Web 2.0 s social networking and tagging concepts with a classical faceted classification (a way of describing the same object in multiple ways) model to track a shipment across incompatible enterprise systems.

This paper presents a Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) technique for the purpose of on-line monitoring of rolling bearing in freight train. A new technical scheme including the arrangements of sensors, the design of sensor nodes and base station, routing protocols, signal acquirement, processing and transmission is described, and an on-line monitoring system is established. Considering the approximately linear arrangements of cars and the running state of freight train, a linear topology structure of WSNs is adopted and five linear routing protocols are discussed in detail as to obtain the desired minimum energy consumption of WSNs. By analysing the simulation results, an optimal multi-hop routing protocol named sub-section routing protocol according to equal distance is adopted, in which all sensor nodes are divided into different groups according to the equal transmission distance, the optimal transmission distance and number of hops of routing protocol are also studied. We know that the communication consumes significant power in WSNs, so, in order to save the limit power supply of WSNs, the data compression and coding scheme based on lifting integer wavelet and embedded zerotree wavelet (EZW) algorithms is studied to reduce the amounts of data transmitted. The experimental results of rolling bearing have been given at last to verify the effectiveness of data compression algorithm. The on-line monitoring system of rolling bearing in freight train will be applied to actual application in the near future.

This paper presents cost effective measures to reduce CO2 emissions in the air freight sector. One door-to-door transport chain is studied in detail from a Scandinavian city to a city in southern Europe. The transport chain was selected by a group of representatives from the air freight sector in order to encompass general characteristics within the sector. Three different ways of shipping air cargo are studied, i.e., by air freighter, as belly freight (in passenger aircrafts) and trucking. CO2 emissions are calculated for each part of the transport chain and its relative importance towards the total amount CO2 emitted during the whole transport chain is shown. It is confirmed that the most CO2 emitting part of the transport chain is the actual flight and that it is in the take-off and climbing phases that most fuel are burned. It is also known that the technical development of aircraft implies a reduction in fuel consumption for each new generation of aircraft. Thus, the aircraft manufacturers have an important role in this development. Having confirmed these observations, this paper focuses on other factors that significantly affects the fuel consumption. Analyzed factors are, e.g., optimization of speed and altitude, traffic management, congestion on and around the airfields, tankering, "latest acceptance time" for goods and improving the load factor. The different factors relative contribution to the total emission levels for the transport chain has been estimated.

A survey was made of the potential effects of a sudden reduction of fuel supplies on freight transport via truck, rail, water, and pipeline. After a brief discussion of the energy characteristics of each of these modes of transport, short-term strategies for making better use of fuel in a crisis are investigated. Short-term is taken to mean something on the order of six months, and a crisis is taken to be the result of something on the order of a 20% drop in available fuel. Although no succinct or well-established conclusions are drawn, the gist of the paper is that the potential for short-term conservation, without a serious disruption of service, exists but does not appear to be large. It is remarked that it is possible, through further study, to obtain a fairly accurate reckoning of the physical ability of the freight transport network to weather a fuel crisis, but that it is impossible to say in advance what freight carriers will in fact do with the network.

Although many have advocated a systems approach in road transportation, this view has not meaningfully penetrated road safety research, practice or policy. In this study, a systems theory-based approach, Rasmussens's (1997) risk management framework and associated Accimap technique, is applied to the analysis of road freight transportation crashes. Twenty-seven highway crash investigation reports were downloaded from the National Transport Safety Bureau website. Thematic analysis was used to identify the complex system of contributory factors, and relationships, identified within the reports. The Accimap technique was then used to represent the linkages and dependencies within and across system levels in the road freight transportation industry and to identify common factors and interactions across multiple crashes. The results demonstrate how a systems approach can increase knowledge in this safety critical domain, while the findings can be used to guide prevention efforts and the development of system-based investigation processes for the heavy vehicle industry. A research agenda for developing an investigation technique to better support the application of the Accimap technique by practitioners in road freight transportation industry is proposed. PMID:25645163

This work develops an integrated model approach for estimating emissions from long-haul freight truck and rail transport in the United States between 2010 and 2050. We connect models of macroeconomic activity, freight demand by commodity, transportation networks, and emission technology to represent different pathways of future freight emissions. Emissions of particulate matter (PM), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and total hydrocarbon (THC) decrease by 60%-70% from 2010 to 2030, as older vehicles built to less-stringent emission standards retire. Climate policy, in the form of carbon tax that increases apparent fuel prices, causes a shift from truck to rail, resulting in a 30% reduction in fuel consumption and a 10%-28% reduction in pollutant emissions by 2050, if rail capacity is sufficient. Eliminating high-emitting conditions in the truck fleet affects air pollutants by 20% to 65%; although these estimates are highly uncertain, they indicate the importance of durability in vehicle engines and emission control systems. Future infrastructure investment will be required both to meet transport demand and to enable actions that reduce emissions of air and climate pollutants. By driving the integrated model framework with two macroeconomic scenarios, we show that the effect of carbon tax on air pollution is robust regardless of growth levels. PMID:26368392

Truck, rail, water, air, and pipeline modes each serve a distinct share of the freight transportation market. The current allocation of freight by mode is the product of technologic, economic, and regulatory frameworks, and a variety of factors -- price, speed, reliability, accessibility, visibility, security, and safety -- influence mode. Based on a comprehensive literature review, this report considers how analytical methods can be used to project future modal shares and offers insights on federal policy decisions with the potential to prompt shifts to energy-efficient, low-emission modes. There are substantial opportunities to reduce the energy used for freight transportation, but it will be difficult to shift large volumes from one mode to another without imposing considerable additional costs on businesses and consumers. This report explores federal government actions that could help trigger the shifts in modal shares needed to reduce energy consumption and emissions. This is one in a series of reports produced as a result of the Transportation Energy Futures project, a Department of Energy-sponsored multi-agency effort to pinpoint underexplored strategies for reducing GHGs and petroleum dependence related to transportation.

The charters of Freedom Monitoring System will periodically assess the physical condition of the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights. Although protected in helium filled glass cases, the documents are subject to damage from light vibration and humidity. The photometer is a CCD detector used as the electronic film for the camera system's scanning camera which mechanically scans the document line by line and acquires a series of images, each representing a one square inch portion of the document. Perkin-Elmer Corporation's photometer is capable of detecting changes in contrast, shape or other indicators of degradation with 5 to 10 times the sensitivity of the human eye. A Vicom image processing computer receives the data from the photometer stores it and manipulates it, allowing comparison of electronic images over time to detect changes.

Describes how scientific documentation is taught in three 50-minute sessions in a technical writing course. Tells how session one distinguishes between in-text notes, footnotes, and reference entries; session two discusses the author-year system of citing references; and session three is concerned with the author-number system of reference…

The purpose of this paper is to document the extent to which Brazilian companies in retail channels have committed to adopting environmental sustainability measures, goals and strategies for waste disposal in the evaluation and planning of sustainable transportation. This paper also aims to examine the different viewpoints of sustainability issues and the preventive actions taken by companies in terms of controlling carbon dioxide emissions and proper disposal of tires, lubricant oils, accessories and spare parts. Finally, taking the perspective of these companies, this paper examines their difficulties in meeting environmental regulations. The research involved a survey completed by 185 representatives of different types of companies, including shippers (represented by manufacturers), LSPs (logistics service providers) and carriers. The non-linear canonical correlation was calculated to verify the opinions of these representatives from different companies regarding issues that impact on the environment, the preventive actions they adopt to reduce their environmental impact and their difficulties in meeting environmental regulations. The results show that shippers and LSPs have the same perceptions regarding these sustainability issues and preventive actions. In addition, the companies perceive high costs and the lack of training for their partners as the major challenges experienced in addressing these issues and undertaking preventive actions. Therefore they need to plan their transportation activities. PMID:26227446

This is the fifth annual report prepared by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). As in prior years, the report brings together under one cover information about how the transportation system is used, how well it works, its economic contributions and costs, and its unintended consequences for safety, energy import dependency, and the environment. This year`s report also contains a detailed analysis of long-distance passenger travel and freight activity, drawing on the American Travel Survey and the Commodity Flow Survey conducted by BTS in cooperation with the US Census Bureau.

Concentration of 25 trace metals in mosses ( Hylocomium splendens, Pleurozium schreberi and Hypnum cupressiforme) are compared with bulk deposition freights (Bergerhoff method) at 3 sites in Switzerland, one on the plateau, a second in the northern prealps and a third in the southern alps. The three moss species are interchangeable and the atmospheric background deposition can be estimated with sufficient accuracy for Ag, Al, As, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ga, Ge, La, Li, Mo, Nb, Ni, Pb, Th, Ti, U, V, W, Y, Zn. For Hg this study does not give definite results. No seasonal differences in moss concentrations from spring to autumn can be shown. PMID:15067476

The increasing demand for air freight transportation has prompted studies of large, aerodynamically efficient cargo-optimized aircraft capable of carrying intermodal containers, which are typically 8 x 8 x 20 ft. Studies have accordingly been conducted within NASA to ascertain the specifications and projected operating costs of such a vehicle, as well as to identify critical, development-pacing technologies. Attention is here given not only to the rather conventional, 10-turbofan engined configuration thus arrived at, but numerous innovative configurations featuring such concepts as spanloading, removable cargo pods, and ground effect.

Orbitmpi is a parallelized version of Roscoe White's Orbit code. The code has been parallelized using MPI, which makes it portable to many types of machines. The guidelines used for the parallelization were to increase code performance with minimal changes to the code's original structure. This document gives a general description of how the parallel sections of the code run. It discusses the changes made to the original code and comments on the general procedure for future additions to Orbitmpi, as well as describing the effects of a parallelized random number generator on the code's output. Finally, the scaling results from Hecate and from Puffin are presented. Hecate is a 64-processor Origin 2000 machine, with MIPS R12000 processors and 16GB of memory, and Puffin is a PC cluster with 9 dual-processor 450 MHz Pentium III (18 processors max.), with 100Mbits ethernet communication.

A unified framework for comparing intercity passenger and freight transportation systems is presented. Composite measures for cost, service/demand, energy, and environmental impact were determined. A set of 14 basic measures were articulated to form the foundation for computing the composite measures. A parameter dependency diagram, constructed to explicitly interrelate the composite and basic measures is discussed. Ground rules and methodology for developing the values of the basic measures are provided and the use of the framework with existing cost and service data is illustrated for various freight systems.

A real-time inspection of the key components is necessary for ensuring safe operation of freight car. While traditional inspection depends on the trained human inspectors, which is time-consuming and lower efficient. With the development of machine vision, vision-based inspection methods get more railway on-spot applications. The cross rod end fastening bolts are important components on both sides of the train body that fixing locking plates together with the freight car main structure. In our experiment, we get the images containing fastening bolt components, and accurately locate the locking plate position using a linear Support Vector Machine (SVM) locating model trained with Histograms of Oriented Gradients (HOG) features. Then we extract the straight line segment using the Line Segment Detector (LSD) and encoding them in a range, which constitute a straight line segment dataset. Lastly we determine the locking plate's working state by the linear pattern. The experiment result shows that the localization accurate rate is over 99%, the fault detection rate is over 95%, and the module implementation time is 2f/s. The overall performance can completely meet the practical railway safety assurance application.

The freight infrastructure network (e.g., roads, railways, waterways, etc.) is the backbone of nearly all trade partnerships in the United States and abroad. The manner in which the individual portions of its constituent parts are interrelated or arranged plays an important role for determining the environmental footprint of goods moved within the network. Herein, we compare the spatial distribution of potential consumer-producer exchanges (i.e., accessibility) under varying greenhouse gas (GHG) budgets or preferences for minimal transportation-related GHG emissions. We conduct case studies using two freight modes (truck and intermodal rail) for two representative commodities: meat/seafood and paper articles. Results across all counties in the United States indicate that the geographic area in which trade is possible, given a GHG budget, varies by transportation mode, location, and commodity. Our results suggest that intermodal terminal availability is an important determinant of low-GHG accessibility. Since only a fraction of road-to-rail terminals accommodate meat/seafood (4.9%) and paper (0.7%), the United States could increase its expected GHG savings associated with truck-to-rail mode-switching policies by 70% (+20 kg CO2,e/ton for meat/seafood) and 310% (+30 kg CO2,e/ton for paper) by upgrading current terminals to allow the exchange of all types of goods. PMID:26339921

Mobile source emission inventories serve as critical input for atmospheric chemical transport models, which are used to simulate air quality and understand the role of mobile source emissions. The significance of mobile sources is even more important in China because the country has the largest vehicle population in the world, and that population continues to grow rapidly. Estimating emissions from diesel trucks is a critical work in mobile source emission inventories due to the importance and difficulties associated with estimating emissions from diesel trucks. Although diesel trucks are major contributors of nitrogen oxide (NOx) and primary particulate matter smaller than 2.5 μm (PM2.5), there are still more obstacles on the existing estimation of diesel truck emissions compared with that of cars; long-range freight transportation activities are complicated, and much of the basic data remain unclear. Most of existing inventories were based on local registration number. However, according to our research, a large number of trucks are conducting long-distance inter-city or inter province transportation. Instead of the local registration number based approach, a road emission intensity-based (REIB) approach is introduced in this research. To provide efficient data for the REIB approach, 1060 questionnaire responses and approximately 1.7 million valid seconds of onboard GPS monitoring data were collected. Both the questionnaire answers and GPS monitoring results indicated that the driving conditions on different types of road have significant impacts on the emission levels of freight trucks. We present estimated emissions of NOx and primary PM2.5 from diesel freight trucks for China in 2011. Using the REIB approach, the activity level and distribution data are obtained from the questionnaire answers. Emission factors are calculated with the International Vehicle Emission (IVE) model that interpolated local on-board measurement results in China according to the GPS

OMEGA is a CRAY I computer program that controls nine codes used by LLNL Physical Data Group for: 1) updating the libraries of evaluated data maintained by the group (UPDATE); 2) calculating average values of energy deposited in secondary particles and residual nuclei (ENDEP); 3) checking the libraries for internal consistency, especially for energy conservation (GAMCHK); 4) producing listings, indexes and plots of the library data (UTILITY); 5) producing calculational constants such as group averaged cross sections and transfer matrices for diffusion and Sn transport codes (CLYDE); 6) producing and updating standard files of the calculational constants used by LLNL Sn and diffusion transport codes (NDFL); 7) producing calculational constants for Monte Carlo transport codes that use group-averaged cross sections and continuous energy for particles (CTART); 8) producing and updating standard files used by the LLNL Monte Carlo transport codes (TRTL); and 9) producing standard files used by the LANL pointwise Monte Carlo transport code MCNP (MCPOINT). The first four of these functions and codes deal with the libraries of evaluated data and the last five with various aspects of producing calculational constants for use by transport codes. In 1970 a series, called PD memos, of internal and informal memoranda was begun. These were intended to be circulated among the group for comment and then to provide documentation for later reference whenever questions arose about the subject matter of the memos. They have served this purpose and now will be drawn upon as source material for this more comprehensive report that deals with most of the matters covered in those memos.

... Notice of Inquiry; Solicitation of Views on Requests To Develop and Release Container Freight Rate... requests the Commission has received from some large U.S. exporters and intermediaries to develop and... World Container Index (WCI, 2011). Each of these indices includes one or more U.S. trade routes,...

... 49 Transportation 5 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Procedures for changing the name or business form... name or business form of a motor carrier, freight forwarder, or property broker. (a) Scope. These procedures apply in the following circumstances: (1) A change in the form of a business, such as...

... position in a train of each loaded placarded car, transport vehicle, freight container, and bulk packaging must conform to the provisions of this section. (b) A car placarded “RADIOACTIVE” must comply with..., occupied caboose, or carload of undeveloped film by at least one non-placarded car. (c) A tank...

... position in a train of each loaded placarded car, transport vehicle, freight container, and bulk packaging must conform to the provisions of this section. (b) A car placarded “RADIOACTIVE” must comply with..., occupied caboose, or carload of undeveloped film by at least one non-placarded car. (c) A tank...

... position in a train of each loaded placarded car, transport vehicle, freight container, and bulk packaging must conform to the provisions of this section. (b) A car placarded “RADIOACTIVE” must comply with..., occupied caboose, or carload of undeveloped film by at least one non-placarded car. (c) A tank...

... Carolina. The notice was published in the Federal Register on April 23, 2010 (75 FR 21357). The notice was... notice was published in the Federal Register on July 1, 2010 (75 FR 38128-38129). At the request of the... Employment and Training Administration CEVA Freight, LLC, Dell Logistics Division, Including On-Site...

The report summarizes the findings of a study to evaluate the fuel efficiency of rail freight operations relative to competing truckload service. The objective of the study was to identify the circumstances in which rail freight service offers a fuel efficiency advantage over alternative truckload options, and to estimate the fuel savings associated with using rail service. The findings are based on computer simulations of rail and truck freight movements between the same origins and destinations. The simulation input assumptions and data are based on actual rail and truck operations. Input data was provided by U.S. regional and Class I railroads and by large truck fleet operators.

Diesel trucks are major contributors of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and primary particulate matter smaller than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) in the transportation sector. However, there are more obstacles to existing estimations of diesel-truck emissions compared with those of cars. The obstacles include both inappropriate methodology and missing basic data in China. According to our research, a large number of trucks are conducting long-distance intercity or interprovincial transportation. Thus, the method used by most existing inventories, based on local registration number, is inappropriate. A road emission intensity-based (REIB) approach is introduced in this research instead of registration-population-based approach. To provide efficient data for the REIB approach, 1060 questionnaire responses and approximately 1.7 million valid seconds of onboard GPS monitoring data were collected in China. The estimated NOx and PM2.5 emissions from diesel freight trucks in China were 5.0 (4.8-7.2) million tonnes and 0.20 (0.17-0.22) million tonnes, respectively, in 2011. The province-based emission inventory is also established using the REIB approach. It was found that the driving conditions on different types of road have significant impacts on the emission levels of freight trucks. The largest differences among the emission factors (in g km-1) on different roads exceed 70 and 50% for NOx and PM2.5, respectively. A region with more intercity freeways or national roads tends to have more NOx emissions, while urban streets play a more important role in primary PM2.5 emissions from freight trucks. Compared with the inventory of the Ministry of Environment Protection, which allocates emissions according to local truck registration number and neglects interregional long-distance transport trips, the differences for NOx and PM2.5 are +28 and -57%, respectively. The REIB approach matches better with traffic statistical data on a provincial level. Furthermore, the different driving conditions on the

Over the past year, several modifications have been made to the NEMS Transportation Model, incorporating greater levels of detail and analysis in modules previously represented in the aggregate or under a profusion of simplifying assumptions. This document is intended to amend those sections of the Model Documentation Report (MDR) which describe these superseded modules. Significant changes have been implemented in the LDV Fuel Economy Model, the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Model, the LDV Fleet Module, and the Highway Freight Model. The relevant sections of the MDR have been extracted from the original document, amended, and are presented in the following pages. A brief summary of the modifications follows: In the Fuel Economy Model, modifications have been made which permit the user to employ more optimistic assumptions about the commercial viability and impact of selected technological improvements. This model also explicitly calculates the fuel economy of an array of alternative fuel vehicles (AFV`s) which are subsequently used in the estimation of vehicle sales. In the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Model, the results of the Fuel Economy Model have been incorporated, and the program flows have been modified to reflect that fact. In the Light Duty Vehicle Fleet Module, the sales of vehicles to fleets of various size are endogenously calculated in order to provide a more detailed estimate of the impacts of EPACT legislation on the sales of AFV`s to fleets. In the Highway Freight Model, the previous aggregate estimation has been replaced by a detailed Freight Truck Stock Model, where travel patterns, efficiencies, and energy intensities are estimated by industrial grouping. Several appendices are provided at the end of this document, containing data tables and supplementary descriptions of the model development process which are not integral to an understanding of the overall model structure.

Over the past decade there has been significant pressure to minimise emissions and safety risks related to commercial driving. This pressure to meet the triple bottom line of cost, environment, and society has often resulted in the rapid application of vehicle technologies designed to mitigate undesired effects. Often the cognitive and behavioural effects of technologies on the commercial driver have not received in-depth analysis to determine comprehensive viability. As such, this paper aims to identify a timescale for implementation for future technologies for UK road freight, and likely associated human factors issues, improving upon the currently employed 'trial-and-error' approach to implementation which may carry high economic, environmental, safety-related risk. Thought experiments are carried out to broadly explore these future systems. Furthermore, this work aims to examine whether technology alone will be enough to meet future CO2 reduction targets, and assess the role of behavioural and systems interventions for future research. PMID:26130420

More than 500 million ocean freight container units are shipped annually between countries and continents. Residual levels of fumigants, as well as naturally occurring off-gassing chemicals emanating from the goods, constitute safety risks, which may affect uniformed workers upon entering the container. The aim of this study was to assess workers’ exposure during stripping of containers and is the first study of its kind. First, an experimental tracer gas method was investigated to determine its usefulness to approximate real exposures from gaseous fumigants and off-gassing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Nitrous oxide was injected and left to distribute in the closed containers. The distribution of the tracer gas and initial (arrival) concentrations of off-gassing volatiles were measured prior to opening the containers. Second, personal exposure (breathing zone) and work zone air monitoring of both tracer gas and VOCs were carried out during stripping. Adsorbent tubes, bag samples, and direct-readings instruments (photoionization detector and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry) were used. The distribution studies with nitrous oxide, and the high correlation between the former and VOCs (r 2 ~ 0.8) during stripping, showed that the tracer gas method may well be used to approximate real exposures in containers. The average breathing zone and work zone concentrations during stripping of naturally ventilated 40-foot containers were 1–7% of the arrival concentrations; however, peaks up to 70% were seen during opening. Even if average exposures during stripping are significantly lower than arrival concentrations, they may still represent serious violations of occupational exposure limits in high-risk containers. The results from this and previous studies illustrate the need to establish practices for the safe handling of ocean freight containers. Until comprehensive recommendations are in place, personnel that need to enter such containers should, in addition

More than 500 million ocean freight container units are shipped annually between countries and continents. Residual levels of fumigants, as well as naturally occurring off-gassing chemicals emanating from the goods, constitute safety risks, which may affect uniformed workers upon entering the container. The aim of this study was to assess workers' exposure during stripping of containers and is the first study of its kind. First, an experimental tracer gas method was investigated to determine its usefulness to approximate real exposures from gaseous fumigants and off-gassing volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Nitrous oxide was injected and left to distribute in the closed containers. The distribution of the tracer gas and initial (arrival) concentrations of off-gassing volatiles were measured prior to opening the containers. Second, personal exposure (breathing zone) and work zone air monitoring of both tracer gas and VOCs were carried out during stripping. Adsorbent tubes, bag samples, and direct-readings instruments (photoionization detector and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry) were used. The distribution studies with nitrous oxide, and the high correlation between the former and VOCs (r(2) ~ 0.8) during stripping, showed that the tracer gas method may well be used to approximate real exposures in containers. The average breathing zone and work zone concentrations during stripping of naturally ventilated 40-foot containers were 1-7% of the arrival concentrations; however, peaks up to 70% were seen during opening. Even if average exposures during stripping are significantly lower than arrival concentrations, they may still represent serious violations of occupational exposure limits in high-risk containers. The results from this and previous studies illustrate the need to establish practices for the safe handling of ocean freight containers. Until comprehensive recommendations are in place, personnel that need to enter such containers should, in addition to

A brief history of COSMIC as it relates to the handling of program documentation is summarized; the items that are essential for computer program documentation are also discussed. COSMIC documentation and program standards handbook is appended.

State-level accident rates for truck, rail, and barge transportation have been updated for mid-1990s shipping conditions. The updated accident, fatality, and injury rates reflect multiyear data for interstate-registered highway carriers, American Association of Railroads member carriers (i.e., all Class 1 and Class 2 railroads), and coastal and internal waterway barge traffic. Adjustments have been made to account for the share of highway combination-truck traffic actually attributable to interstate-registered carriers and for duplicated or otherwise inaccurate or unusable entries in the public-use accident data files applied. State-to-state variation in rates, reflecting recent developments in freight flows, the possible effect of speed limit changes on highway rates, and the stability of rates over time, are discussed. Carrier-specific information was used to confirm the general accuracy of the computed rates for highway shipments. Study conclusions suggest that these rates may be used for the next several years. However, further investigation is suggested, within two to three years, to verify or reject the emergence of a trend toward higher truck accident rates in states that raised highway speed limits between 1995 and 1996.

Truck freight terminals are predominantly located near highways and industrial facilities. This proximity to pollution sources, coupled with meteorological conditions and wind patterns, may affect occupational exposures to particles at these work locations. In order to understand this process, data from an environmental sampling study of particles at US trucking terminals, along with weather and geographic maps, were analyzed to determine the extent to which the transportation of particles from local pollutant sources elevated observed occupational exposures at these locations. To help identify potential upwind sources, wind direction weighted averages and speed measurements were used to construct wind roses, which were superimposed on overhead photos of the terminal and examined for upwind source activity. Statistical tests were performed on these “source” and “non-source” directions to determine whether there were significant differences in observed particle levels between the two groups. Our results provide evidence that nearby upwind pollution sources significantly elevated background concentrations at only a few of the locations sampled, while the majority provided little to no evidence of a significant upwind source effect. PMID:17162479

The United States (US) Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Environmental Management (EM), is actively pursuing activities to reduce the radiological risk and clean up the environmental legacy of the nation's nuclear weapons programs. EM has made significant progress in recent years in the clean-up and closure of sites and is also focusing on longer-term activities necessary for the completion of the clean-up program. The packaging and transportation of contaminated demolition debris and low-level waste (LLW) materials in a safe and cost-effective manner are essential in completing this mission. Toward this end, the US Department of Transportation's (DOT) Final Rule on Hazardous Materials Regulation Final Rule issued January 26, 2004, included a new provision authorizing the use of Freight Containers (e.g., 20 and 40-foot ISO Containers) as Industrial Packages Type 1, 2, or 3 (IP-1, IP-2, and IP-3). This paper will discuss the technical and regulatory considerations in using these newly authorized and large packages for the packaging and transportation of LLW materials.

State-level accident rates by mode of freight transport have been developed and refined for application to the US Department of Energy`s (DOE`s) environmental mitigation program, which may involve large-quantity shipments of hazardous and mixed wastes from DOE facilities. These rates reflect multi-year data for interstate-registered highway earners, American Association of Railroads member carriers, and coastal and internal waterway barge traffic. Adjustments have been made to account for the share of highway combination-truck traffic actually attributable to interstate-registered carriers and for duplicate or otherwise inaccurate entries in the public-use accident data files used. State-to-state variation in rates is discussed, as is the stability of rates over time. Computed highway rates have been verified with actual carriers of high- and low-level nuclear materials, and the most recent truck accident data have been used, to ensure that the results are of the correct order of magnitude. Study conclusions suggest that DOE use the computed rates for the three modes until (1) improved estimation techniques for highway combination-truck miles by state become available; (2) continued evolution of the railroad industry significantly increases the consolidation of interstate rail traffic onto fewer high-capacity trunk lines; or (3) a large-scale off-site waste shipment campaign is imminent.

The standardised freight container was one of the most important innovations of the 20th Century. Containerised cargoes travel from their point of origin to their destination by ship, road and rail as part of a single journey, without unpacking. This simple concept is the key element in cheap, rapid transport by land and sea, and has led to a phenomenal growth in global trade. Likewise, containerised air cargo has led to a remarkable increase in the inter-continental transportation of goods, particularly perishable items such as flowers, fresh vegetables and live animals. In both cases, containerisation offers great advantages in speed and security, but reduces the opportunity to inspect cargoes in transit. An inevitable consequence is the globalisation of undesirable species of animals, plants and pathogens. Moreover, cheap passenger flights offer worldwide travel for viral and parasitic pathogens in infected humans. The continued emergence of exotic pests, vectors and pathogens throughout the world is an unavoidable consequence of these advances in transportation technology. PMID:20617647

The Energy Information Administration's (EIA's) National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) Freight Truck Stock Adjustment Model (FTSAM) was created in 1995 relying heavily on input data from the 1992 Economic Census, Truck Inventory and Use Survey (TIUS). The FTSAM is part of the NEMS Transportation Sector Model, which provides baseline energy projections and analyzes the impacts of various technology scenarios on consumption, efficiency, and carbon emissions. The base data for the FTSAM can be updated every five years as new Economic Census information is released. Because of expertise in using the TIUS database, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) was asked to assist the EIA when the new Economic Census data were available. ORNL provided the necessary base data from the 1997 Vehicle Inventory and Use Survey (VIUS) and other sources to update the FTSAM. The next Economic Census will be in the year 2002. When those data become available, the EIA will again want to update the FTSAM using the VIUS. This report, which details the methodology of estimating and extracting data from the 1997 VIUS Microdata File, should be used as a guide for generating the data from the next VIUS so that the new data will be as compatible as possible with the data in the model.

This document is intended to be a resource for preparers of safety documentation for Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico facilities. It provides standardized discussions of some topics that are generic to most, if not all, Sandia/NM facilities safety documents. The material provides a ``core`` upon which to develop facility-specific safety documentation. The use of the information in this document will reduce the cost of safety document preparation and improve consistency of information.

A software application has been developed to aid law enforcement and government intelligence gathering organizations in the translation and analysis of foreign language documents with potential intelligence content. The Automated Document Analysis System (ADAS) provides the capability to search (data or text mine) documents in English and the most commonly encountered foreign languages, including Arabic. Hardcopy documents are scanned by a high-speed scanner and are optical character recognized (OCR). Documents obtained in an electronic format bypass the OCR and are copied directly to a working directory. For translation and analysis, the script and the language of the documents are first determined. If the document is not in English, the document is machine translated to English. The documents are searched for keywords and key features in either the native language or translated English. The user can quickly review the document to determine if it has any intelligence content and whether detailed, verbatim human translation is required. The documents and document content are cataloged for potential future analysis. The system allows non-linguists to evaluate foreign language documents and allows for the quick analysis of a large quantity of documents. All document processing can be performed manually or automatically on a single document or a batch of documents.

In late 1998, the Space Shuttle Program recognized a need to revitalize its payload accommodations documentation. As a result a payload documentation enhancement project was initiated to review and update payload documentation and improve the accessibility to that documentation by the Space Shuttle user community.

A tutorial in the documentation of computer software is presented. It presents a methodology for achieving an adequate level of documentation as a natural outgrowth of the total programming effort commencing with the initial problem statement and definition and terminating with the final verification of code. It discusses the content of adequate documentation, the necessity for such documentation and the problems impeding achievement of adequate documentation.

Personal exposure to particle-phase molecular markers was measured at a trucking terminal in St Louis, MO, as part of a larger epidemiologic project aimed at assessing carbonaceous fine particulate matter (PM) exposure in this occupational setting. The integration of parallel personal exposure, ambient worksite area and ambient urban background (St Louis Supersite) measurements provided a unique opportunity to track the work-related exposure to carbonaceous fine PM in a freight terminal. The data were used to test the proposed personal exposure model in this occupational setting: Personal exposure=urban background+work site background+personal activity To accurately assess the impact of PM emission sources, particularly motor vehicle exhaust, and organic elemental carbon (OCEC) analysis and nonpolar organic molecular marker analysis by thermal desorption-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TD-GCMS) were conducted on all of the PM samples. EC has been used as a tracer for diesel exhaust in urban areas, however, the emission profile for diesel exhaust is dependent upon the operating conditions of the vehicle and can vary considerably within a fleet. Hopanes, steranes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and alkanes were measured by TD-GCMS. Hopanes are source-specific organic molecular markers for lubricating oil present in motor vehicle exhaust. The concentrations of OC, EC and the organic tracers were averaged to obtain average profiles to assess differences in the personal, worksite area and urban background samples, and were also correlated individually by sample time to evaluate the exposure model presented above. Finally, a chemical mass balance model was used to apportion the motor vehicle and cigarette-smoke components of the measured OC and EC for the average personal exposure, worksite area and urban background samples. PMID:18322451

Personal exposure to particle-phase molecular markers was measured at a trucking terminal in St Louis, MO, as part of a larger epidemiologic project aimed at assessing carbonaceous fine particulate matter (PM) exposure in this occupational setting. The integration of parallel personal exposure, ambient worksite area and ambient urban background (St Louis Supersite) measurements provided a unique opportunity to track the work-related exposure to carbonaceous fine PM in a freight terminal. The data were used to test the proposed personal exposure model in this occupational setting: To accurately assess the impact of PM emission sources, particularly motor vehicle exhaust, and organic elemental carbon (OCEC) analysis and nonpolar organic molecular marker analysis by thermal desorption-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (TD-GCMS) were conducted on all of the PM samples. EC has been used as a tracer for diesel exhaust in urban areas, however, the emission profile for diesel exhaust is dependent upon the operating conditions of the vehicle and can vary considerably within a fleet. Hopanes, steranes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and alkanes were measured by TD-GCMS. Hopanes are source-specific organic molecular markers for lubricating oil present in motor vehicle exhaust. The concentrations of OC, EC and the organic tracers were averaged to obtain average profiles to assess differences in the personal, worksite area and urban background samples, and were also correlated individually by sample time to evaluate the exposure model presented above. Finally, a chemical mass balance model was used to apportion the motor vehicle and cigarette-smoke components of the measured OC and EC for the average personal exposure, worksite area and urban background samples. PMID:18322451

Poor quality documents are obtained in various situations such as historical document collections, legal archives, security investigations, and documents found in clandestine locations. Such documents are often scanned for automated analysis, further processing, and archiving. Due to the nature of such documents, degraded document images are often hard to read, have low contrast, and are corrupted by various artifacts. We describe a novel approach for the enhancement of such documents based on probabilistic models which increases the contrast, and thus, readability of such documents under various degradations. The enhancement produced by the proposed approach can be viewed under different viewing conditions if desired. The proposed approach was evaluated qualitatively and compared to standard enhancement techniques on a subset of historical documents obtained from the Yad Vashem Holocaust museum. In addition, quantitative performance was evaluated based on synthetically generated data corrupted under various degradation models. Preliminary results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Traditional approaches to knowledge acquisition have focused on interviews. An alternative focuses on the documentation associated with a domain. Adopting a documentation approach provides some advantages during familiarization. A knowledge management tool was constructed to gain these advantages.

This tutorial provides an overview of several document engineering techniques which are applicable to the authoring of World Wide Web documents. It illustrates how pre-WWW hypertext research is applicable to the development of WWW information resources.

The Johnson Space Center (JSC) document index is intended to provide a single source listing of all published JSC-numbered documents their authors, and the designated offices of prime responsibility (OPR's) by mail code at the time of publication. The index contains documents which have been received and processed by the JSC Technical Library as of January 13, 1988. Other JSC-numbered documents which are controlled but not available through the JSC Library are also listed.

Report presents main technical issues involved in computer-integrated documentation. Problems associated with automation of management and maintenance of documents analyzed from perspectives of artificial intelligence and human factors. Technologies that may prove useful in computer-integrated documentation reviewed: these include conventional approaches to indexing and retrieval of information, use of hypertext, and knowledge-based artificial-intelligence systems.

All of the documents featured in this article come from the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration. Primary source documents illustrate what is meant by responsible citizenship. The people who create documents as well as those who are featured in them can serve as models of civic behavior--both appropriate and…

The Clinical Document Architecture (CDA), a standard developed by the Health Level Seven organisation (HL7), is an ANSI approved document architecture for exchange of clinical information using XML. A CDA document is comprised of a header with associated vocabularies and a body containing the structural clinical information. PMID:15061557

Discusses digital imaging technology and examines document database conversion considerations. Two types of document imaging systems are described: (1) a work in process system, and (2) a storage and retrieval system. Conversion methodology is outlined, and a document conversion scenario is presented as a practical guide to conversion. (LRW)

A program analysis for documentation (PAD) written in FORTRAN has three steps: listing the variables, describing the structure and writing the program specifications. Technical notes on editing criteria for reviewing program documentation, technical notes for PAD, and FORTRAN program analyzer for documentation are appended.

Describes a study that investigated document retrieval relevance based on document length in an experimental text collection. Topics include term weighting and document ranking, retrieval strategies such as the vector-space cosine match, and a modified technique called the pivoted cosine normalization. (LRW)

One of the best ways for a child care program to lose an employment-related lawsuit is failure to document the performance of its employees. Documentation of an employee's performance can provide evidence of an employment-related decision such as discipline, promotion, or discharge. When properly implemented, documentation of employee performance…

Energy harvesting from galloping oscillations of a bluff body can be used to supply power to a wireless sensor. In this paper we investigate the possibility to use a galloping-based piezo-aeroelastic energy harvester to supply power to a wireless sensors network installed on a freight train to measure the accelerations in correspondence of axle boxes. The monitoring system will be used to detect possible deteriorations of the running conditions that, in the worst cases, can lead to the vehicle derailment. Unlike other applications in this case the air speed relative to the body is due to the train motion and, for typical freight trains and standard running conditions, is equal to about 20 m/s. In the paper we discuss the design of the harvester on the basis of the constrains due to the application. Preliminary aerodynamic tests shows the limitation of the classical quasi-steady theory of galloping as a consequence of the interaction with the vortex shedding phenomenon.

Pass-by noise from freight trains on straight tracks is dominated by rolling noise. The main contributions are generally accepted to originate from vibrations of the track and the wheels. However, there is uncertainty about the contributions from the bogie and the wagon superstructure. This article describes experimental methods to determine these. The methods combine vibration measurements on a rolling wagon and measurements of structural and of vibro-acoustical transfer functions under static conditions. Firstly, an inverse method is used to determine the equivalent structural excitation of a wagon. Secondly, two reciprocity methods are described for detailed vibro-acoustic transmission path analysis, with the wagon parts excited by the equivalent forces. As an example, some data will be shown from experiments on a widely used freight wagon. It appears that the contributions from two bogies and from the wagon superstructure are respectively 20 and 30dB(A) lower than the measured pass-by noise levels. Detailed information is obtained about the ranking of sub-areas which contribute to the sound radiation. The results illustrate the practical value of the methods even in the case of weak partial sources.

DFTool performs the following:  A tool to conduct, capture, document, and manage a systematic review and flowdown of contractual requirements/documents to the site, facility, and project-level implementing documents.  Ability to alert/email document owners to impending changes/updates and impacts to upper-level linked documents.  Custom ability to generate reports and/or include custom functionalities based on other needs or consideration for site use.  Ability to be accessed by all personnel (particularly document owners). more » Shows both document flow-up and flow-down.  Provides visibility where links/flowdown does not currently exist or is incorrect so it can be changed/updated (no visibility currently exists).  Ability to capture requirements and ultimately link to an existing/proven requirements-based commitment tracking system which can be used (electively) at the facility/organizational-level« less

DFTool performs the following:  A tool to conduct, capture, document, and manage a systematic review and flowdown of contractual requirements/documents to the site, facility, and project-level implementing documents.  Ability to alert/email document owners to impending changes/updates and impacts to upper-level linked documents.  Custom ability to generate reports and/or include custom functionalities based on other needs or consideration for site use.  Ability to be accessed by all personnel (particularly document owners).  Shows both document flow-up and flow-down.  Provides visibility where links/flowdown does not currently exist or is incorrect so it can be changed/updated (no visibility currently exists).  Ability to capture requirements and ultimately link to an existing/proven requirements-based commitment tracking system which can be used (electively) at the facility/organizational-level

Standards defining the requirements for preparing software for the Aircraft Noise Prediction Program (ANOPP) were given. It is the intent of these standards to provide definition, design, coding, and documentation criteria for the achievement of a unity among ANOPP products. These standards apply to all of ANOPP's standard software system. The standards encompass philosophy as well as techniques and conventions.

... locomotive not later than nine months after the first biennial inspection performed pursuant to 49 CFR 229.29... Retroreflective Material to Freight Cars per Â§ 224.107(a)(2)(ii) 3 Table 3 of Subpart B to Part 224... 3 of Subpart B to Part 224—Alternative Schedule for Application of Retroreflective Material...

Discusses demands users face when searching for information in online libraries of product documentation. Demonstrates how physical libraries provide a helpful metaphor for design. Offers heuristics and a conceptual prototype for facilitating electronic document retrieval. Argues that the search form itself should communicate the way materials are…

Design: Interpretive analysis of published research. Sample: 173 papers indexed in Medline between 1995 and 2004 that cited tobacco industry documents. Analysis: Information about year published, journal and author, and a set of codes relating to methods reporting, were managed in N*Vivo. This coding formed the basis of an interpretation of tobacco document research reporting. Results: Two types of papers were identified. The first used tobacco documents as the primary data source (A-papers). The second was dedicated to another purpose but cited a small number of documents (B-papers). In B-papers documents were used either to provide a specific example or to support an expansive contention. A-papers contained information about purpose, sources, searching, analysis, and limitations that differed by author and journal and over time. A-papers had no clear methodological context, but used words from three major traditions—interpretive research, positivist research, and history—to describe analysis. Interpretation: A descriptive mainstream form of tobacco document reporting is proposed, initially typical but decreasing, and a continuum of positioning of the researcher, from conduit to constructor. Reporting practices, particularly from experienced researchers, appeared to evolve towards researcher as constructor, with later papers showing more complex purposes, diverse sources, and detail of searching and analysis. Tobacco document research could learn from existing research traditions: a model for planning and evaluating tobacco document research is presented. PMID:16319359

Published periodically by the United Nations Education, Social, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Department of Documentation, Libraries, and Archives, this edition contains information on: (1) recent meetings and publications relating to international documentation and library conventions; (2) an update of the information contained in the…

The document is a system documentation manual of the Computer-Assisted Teacher Training System (CATTS) developed by the Center for Innovation in Teaching the Handicapped (Indiana University). CATTS is characterized as a system capable of providing continuous, instantaneous, and/or delayed feedback of relevant teacher-student interaction data to a…

The NASA Software Documentation Standard (hereinafter referred to as "Standard") is designed to support the documentation of all software developed for NASA; its goal is to provide a framework and model for recording the essential information needed throughout the development life cycle and maintenance of a software system. The NASA Software Documentation Standard can be applied to the documentation of all NASA software. The Standard is limited to documentation format and content requirements. It does not mandate specific management, engineering, or assurance standards or techniques. This Standard defines the format and content of documentation for software acquisition, development, and sustaining engineering. Format requirements address where information shall be recorded and content requirements address what information shall be recorded. This Standard provides a framework to allow consistency of documentation across NASA and visibility into the completeness of project documentation. The basic framework consists of four major sections (or volumes). The Management Plan contains all planning and business aspects of a software project, including engineering and assurance planning. The Product Specification contains all technical engineering information, including software requirements and design. The Assurance and Test Procedures contains all technical assurance information, including Test, Quality Assurance (QA), and Verification and Validation (V&V). The Management, Engineering, and Assurance Reports is the library and/or listing of all project reports.

The mission analysis and trajectory simulation program is summarized; it provides an understanding of the size and complexity of one simulation for which documentation is mandatory. Programs for automating documentation of subroutines, flow charts, and internal cross reference information are also included.

This document contains the system specifications derived to satisfy the system requirements found in the IDC System Requirements Document for the IDC Reengineering Phase 2 project. Revisions Version Date Author/Team Revision Description Authorized by V1.0 12/2014 IDC Reengineering Project Team Initial delivery M. Harris

The plan to get all the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) collection online, with quality records, led to the NACA Documents Data base Project. The project has a two fold purpose: (1) to develop the definitive bibliography of NACA produced and/or held documents; and (2) to make that bibliography and the associated documents available to the aerospace community. This study supports the first objective by providing an analysis of the NACA collection and its bibliographic records, and supports the second objective by defining the NACA archive and recommending methodologies for meeting the project objectives.

A style manual is presented to serve as a reference and guide for system and program documentation. It is intended to set standards for documentation, prescribing the procedures to be followed, format to be used, and information to be produced. The standards for program documentation specify the extent to which the programmer should support his efforts in writing. The first three sections of the manual (system, program, and operation descriptions) contain information of particular interest to management, operators, and program users, respectively. Each section was designed as a self-sufficient description from the management, operator, or user point of view.

Program offers ways to file and locate sources of reference. DOCLIB system consists of two parts to serve needs of two type of users: general user and librarian. DOCLIB systems provides user with interactive, menudriven document inventory capability.

MANTRACK is an automated, controlled document tracking system which does the following and reduces staff time required to perform these tasks: generates transmittal letters/receipts for every controlled copy issued (merged from a current distribution list), tracks the return of transmittal receipts, facilitates the check-in of the large number of transmittal receipts returned (using a barcode reader), generates a reminder list which prompts the cyclic review and evaluation of existing documents, generates overdue reminders for themore » return of past-due transmittal receipts, tracks the number of Procedure Change Directives (PCD) currently in effect for each procedure, generates and maintains current distribution lists for each document, generates a current table of contents when updates to the document (usually a procedure manual) are made.« less

This document presents a methodology whereby geochemical data can more effectively contribute to the development , calibration, and verification of groundwater flow and slute transport models for the Underground Test Area (UGTA) Project.

This Transportation System Requirements Document (Trans-SRD) describes the functions to be performed by and the technical requirements for the Transportation System to transport spent nuclear fuel (SNF) and high-level radioactive waste (HLW) from Purchaser and Producer sites to a Civilian Radioactive Waste Management System (CRWMS) site, and between CRWMS sites. The purpose of this document is to define the system-level requirements for Transportation consistent with the CRWMS Requirement Document (CRD). These requirements include design and operations requirements to the extent they impact on the development of the physical segments of Transportation. The document also presents an overall description of Transportation, its functions, its segments, and the requirements allocated to the segments and the system-level interfaces with Transportation. The interface identification and description are published in the CRWMS Interface Specification.

My project at KSC during my spring 2011 internship was to develop a Ruby on Rails application to manage Content Documents..A Content Document is a collection of documents and information that describes what software is installed on a Launch Control System Computer. It's important for us to make sure the tools we use everyday are secure, up-to-date, and properly licensed. Previously, keeping track of the information was done by Excel and Word files between different personnel. The goal of the new application is to be able to manage and access the Content Documents through a single database backed web application. Our LCS team will benefit greatly with this app. Admin's will be able to login securely to keep track and update the software installed on each computer in a timely manner. We also included exportability such as attaching additional documents that can be downloaded from the web application. The finished application will ease the process of managing Content Documents while streamlining the procedure. Ruby on Rails is a very powerful programming language and I am grateful to have the opportunity to build this application.

The Document Concurrence System is a combination of software modules for routing users expressions of concurrence with documents. This system enables determination of the current status of concurrences and eliminates the need for the prior practice of manually delivering paper documents to all persons whose approvals were required. This system runs on a server, and participants gain access via personal computers equipped with Web-browser and electronic-mail software. A user can begin a concurrence routing process by logging onto an administration module, naming the approvers and stating the sequence for routing among them, and attaching documents. The server then sends a message to the first person on the list. Upon concurrence by the first person, the system sends a message to the second person, and so forth. A person on the list indicates approval, places the documents on hold, or indicates disapproval, via a Web-based module. When the last person on the list has concurred, a message is sent to the initiator, who can then finalize the process through the administration module. A background process running on the server identifies concurrence processes that are overdue and sends reminders to the appropriate persons.

The Document Concurrence System is a combination of software modules for routing users' expressions of concurrence with documents. This system enables determination of the current status of concurrences and eliminates the need for the prior practice of manually delivering paper documents to all persons whose approvals were required. This system runs on a server, and participants gain access via personal computers equipped with Web-browser and electronic-mail software. A user can begin a concurrence routing process by logging onto an administration module, naming the approvers and stating the sequence for routing among them, and attaching documents. The server then sends a message to the first person on the list. Upon concurrence by the first person, the system sends a message to the second person, and so forth. A person on the list indicates approval, places the documents on hold, or indicates disapproval, via a Web-based module. When the last person on the list has concurred, a message is sent to the initiator, who can then finalize the process through the administration module. A background process running on the server identifies concurrence processes that are overdue and sends reminders to the appropriate persons.

The Document Concurrence System is a combination of software modules for routing users' expressions of concurrence with documents. This system enables determination of the current status of concurrences and eliminates the need for the prior practice of manually delivering paper documents to all persons whose approvals were required. This system runs on a server, and participants gain access via personal computers equipped with Web-browser and electronic-mail software. A user can begin a concurrence routing process by logging onto an administration module, naming the approvers and stating the sequence for routing among them, and attaching documents. The server then sends a message to the first person on the list. Upon concurrence by the first person, the system sends a message to the second person, and so forth. A person on the list indicates approval, places the documents on hold, or indicates disapproval, via a Web-based module. When the last person on the list had concurred, a message is sent to the initiator, who can then finalize the process through the administration module. A background process running on the server identifies concurrence processes that are overdue and sends reminders to the appropriate persons.

This article presents a study of how humans perceive and judge the relevance of documents. Humans are adept at making reasonably robust and quick decisions about what information is relevant to them, despite the ever increasing complexity and volume of their surrounding information environment. The literature on document relevance has identified various dimensions of relevance (e.g., topicality, novelty, etc.), however little is understood about how these dimensions may interact. We performed a crowdsourced study of how human subjects judge two relevance dimensions in relation to document snippets retrieved from an internet search engine. The order of the judgment was controlled. For those judgments exhibiting an order effect, a q–test was performed to determine whether the order effects can be explained by a quantum decision model based on incompatible decision perspectives. Some evidence of incompatibility was found which suggests incompatible decision perspectives is appropriate for explaining interacting dimensions of relevance in such instances. PMID:25071622

The main technical issues of the Computer Integrated Documentation (CID) project are presented. The problem of automation of documents management and maintenance is analyzed both from an artificial intelligence viewpoint and from a human factors viewpoint. Possible technologies for CID are reviewed: conventional approaches to indexing and information retrieval; hypertext; and knowledge based systems. A particular effort was made to provide an appropriate representation for contextual knowledge. This representation is used to generate context on hypertext links. Thus, indexing in CID is context sensitive. The implementation of the current version of CID is described. It includes a hypertext data base, a knowledge based management and maintenance system, and a user interface. A series is also presented of theoretical considerations as navigation in hyperspace, acquisition of indexing knowledge, generation and maintenance of a large documentation, and relation to other work.

Document clustering methods, document cluster label disambiguation methods, document clustering apparatuses, and articles of manufacture are described. In one aspect, a document clustering method includes providing a document set comprising a plurality of documents, providing a cluster comprising a subset of the documents of the document set, using a plurality of terms of the documents, providing a cluster label indicative of subject matter content of the documents of the cluster, wherein the cluster label comprises a plurality of word senses, and selecting one of the word senses of the cluster label.

This procedure communicates to the Customers of the Automation, Robotics and Simulation Division (AR&SD) Dynamics Systems Test Branch (DSTB) how to obtain services of the Six-Degrees-Of-Freedom Dynamic Test System (SDTS). The scope includes the major communication documents between the SDTS and its Customer. It established the initial communication and contact points as well as provides the initial documentation in electronic media for the customer. Contact the SDTS Manager (SM) for the names of numbers of the current contact points.

A set of programs designed to help R&D programmers document their FORTRAN programs more effectively were written. The central program reads FORTRAN source code and asks the programmer questions about things it has not heard of before. It inserts the answers to these questions as comments into the FORTRAN code. The comments, as well as extensive cross-reference information, are also written to an unformatted file. Other programs read this file to produce printed information or to act as an interactive document.

Noting that accounting reports, including management advisory service (MAS) studies, reports on internal control, and tax memoranda, often appear rather dense and heavy in style--partly because of the legal environment's demand for careful expression and partly because such documents convey very complex information--this paper presents four…

Reflects on the author's experiences teaching a course on great documents in American history to high school students, concentrating on teaching the Declaration of Independence and the "Federalist Papers." Countering the students' tendencies toward superficial reading and encouraging deep analysis are the teacher's primary goals. (SLD)

We report an investigation into strategies, algorithms, and software tools for document image content extraction and inventory, that is, the location and measurement of regions containing handwriting, machine-printed text, photographs, blank space, etc. We have developed automatically trainable methods, adaptable to many kinds of documents represented as bilevel, greylevel, or color images, that offer a wide range of useful tradeoffs of speed versus accuracy using methods for exact and approximate k-Nearest Neighbor classification. We have adopted a policy of classifying each pixel (rather than regions) by content type: we discuss the motivation and engineering implications of this choice. We describe experiments on a wide variety of document-image and content types, and discuss performance in detail in terms of classification speed, per-pixel classification accuracy, per-page inventory accuracy, and subjective quality of page segmentation. These show that even modest per-pixel classification accuracies (of, e.g., 60-70%) support usefully high recall and precision rates (of, e.g., 80-90%) for retrieval queries of document collections seeking pages that contain a given minimum fraction of a certain type of content.

This publication, latest in a series of volumes issued annually since 1960, contains primary source documents on arms control and disarmament developments during 1969. The main chronological arrangement is supplemented by both chronological and topical lists of contents. Other reference aids include a subject/author index, and lists of…

The theme of this issue of ELT Documents is the use of the language laboratory in language learning. An article by A. Maley summarizes the conference on the use of the language laboratory for advanced learners, held in Paris, 2-4 Oct. 1974, from which two main perspectives emerged. One is critical of the structuralist audio-lingual assumptions…

Explores the use of primary sources when teaching about U.S. slavery. Includes primary sources from the Gilder Lehrman Documents Collection (New York Historical Society) to teach about the role of slaves in the Revolutionary War, such as a proclamation from Lord Dunmore offering freedom to slaves who joined his army. (CMK)

The technology developed in this project uses biometric information printed on the document and public key cryptography to ensure that an adversary cannot issue identification documents to unauthorized individuals or alter existing documents to allow their use by unauthorized individuals. This process can be used to produce many types of identification documents with much higher security than any currently in use. The system is demonstrated using a security badge as an example. This project focused on the technologies requiring development in order to make the approach viable with existing badge printing and laminating technologies. By far the most difficult was the image processing required to verify that the picture on the badge had not been altered. Another area that required considerable work was the high density printed data storage required to get sufficient data on the badge for verification of the picture. The image processing process was successfully tested, and recommendations are included to refine the badge system to ensure high reliability. A two dimensional data array suitable for printing the required data on the badge was proposed, but testing of the readability of the array had to be abandoned due to reallocation of the budgeted funds by the LDRD office.

The operational impact of various storage formats related to electronic publishing of documents in the NASA Scientific and Technical Information (STI) Program is discussed. Questions are raised about the development of full text, surrogate, and hybrid storage formats. It appears that the eventual configuration will contain a mix of storage formats based on user demand.

Evaluation and implementation tasks for the NASA-wide electronic publishing system known as networked DOCUTECH are examined and the system configuration is graphically depicted. DOCUTECH provides the capability to print on demand electronically stored documents. Use of the electronic publishing system in several applications has generated productivity gains ranging from 33 to 88 percent at geographically dispersed NASA centers.

The Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control Act (UMTRCA) of 1978, Public Law 95-604 (PL95-604), grants the Secretary of Energy the authority and responsibility to perform such actions as are necessary to minimize radiation health hazards and other environmental hazards caused by inactive uranium mill sites. This Technical Approach Document (TAD) describes the general technical approaches and design criteria adopted by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in order to implement remedial action plans (RAPS) and final designs that comply with EPA standards. It does not address the technical approaches necessary for aquifer restoration at processing sites; a guidance document, currently in preparation, will describe aquifer restoration concerns and technical protocols. This document is a second revision to the original document issued in May 1986; the revision has been made in response to changes to the groundwater standards of 40 CFR 192, Subparts A--C, proposed by EPA as draft standards. New sections were added to define the design approaches and designs necessary to comply with the groundwater standards. These new sections are in addition to changes made throughout the document to reflect current procedures, especially in cover design, water resources protection, and alternate site selection; only minor revisions were made to some of the sections. Sections 3.0 is a new section defining the approach taken in the design of disposal cells; Section 4.0 has been revised to include design of vegetated covers; Section 8.0 discusses design approaches necessary for compliance with the groundwater standards; and Section 9.0 is a new section dealing with nonradiological hazardous constituents. 203 refs., 18 figs., 26 tabs.

In the post September 11, 2001 (9/11) world the federal government has increased its focus on the manufacturing, distributing, warehousing, and transporting of hazardous materials. In 2002, Congress mandated that the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) designate a subset of hazardous materials that could pose a threat to the American public when transported in sufficiently large quantities. This subset of hazardous materials, which could be weaponized or subjected to a nefarious terrorist act, was designated as Security Sensitive Hazardous Materials (SSHM). Radioactive materials (RAM) were of special concern because actionable intelligence had revealed that Al Qaeda desired to develop a homemade nuclear device or a dirty bomb to use against the United States (US) or its allies.1 Because of this clear and present danger, it is today a national priority to develop and deploy technologies that will provide for visibility and real-time exception notification of SSHM and Radioactive Materials in Quantities of Concern (RAMQC) in international commerce. Over the past eight years Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has been developing, implementing, and deploying sensor-based technologies to enhance supply chain visibility. ORNL s research into creating a model for shipments, known as IntelligentFreight, has investigated sensors and sensor integration methods at numerous testbeds throughout the national supply chain. As a result of our research, ORNL believes that most of the information needed by supply chain partners to provide shipment visibility and exceptions-based reporting already exists but is trapped in numerous proprietary or agency-centric databases.

A novel conception of automatic recognition for free-trouble sleeper springs is proposed and Adaboost algorithm based on Haar features is applied for the sleeper springs recognition in Trouble of moving Freight car Detection System (TFDS). In the recognition system, feature set of sleeper springs is determined by Haar features and selected by Adaboost algorithm. In order to recognize and select the free-trouble sleeper springs from all the captured dynamic images, a cascade of classifier is established by searching dynamic images. The amount of detected images is drastically reduced and the recognition efficiency is improved due to the conception of free-trouble recognition. Experiments show that the proposed method is characterized by simple feature, high efficiency and robustness. It performs high robustness against noise as well as translation, rotation and scale transformations of objects and indicates high stability to images with poor quality such as low resolution, partial occlusion, poor illumination and overexposure etc. The recognition time of a 640×480 image is about 16ms, and Correct Detection Rate is high up to about 97%, while Miss Detection Rate and Error Detection Rate are very low. The proposed method can recognize sleeper springs in all-weather conditions, which advances the engineering application for TFDS.

The United States Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) maintains an underground storage system consisting of caverns that were leached or solution mined in four salt domes located near the Gulf of Mexico in Texas and Louisiana. The SPR comprises more than 60 active caverns containing approximately 700 million barrels of crude oil. Sandia National Labo- ratories (SNL) is the geotechnical advisor to the SPR. As the most pressing need at the inception of the SPR was to create and fill storage volume with oil, the decision was made to leach the caverns and fill them simultaneously (leach-fill). Therefore, A.J. Russo developed SANSMIC in the early 1980s which allows for a transient oil-brine interface (OBI) making it possible to model leach-fill and withdrawal operations. As the majority of caverns are currently filled to storage capacity, the primary uses of SANSMIC at this time are related to the effects of small and large withdrawals, expansion of existing caverns, and projecting future pillar to diameter ratios. SANSMIC was identified by SNL as a priority candidate for qualification. This report continues the quality assurance (QA) process by documenting the "as built" mathematical and numerical models that comprise this document. The pro- gram flow is outlined and the models are discussed in detail. Code features that were added later or were not documented previously have been expounded. No changes in the code's physics have occurred since the original documentation (Russo, 1981, 1983) although recent experiments may yield improvements to the temperature and plume methods in the future.

The Content Documents are created and managed under the System Software group with. Launch Control System (LCS) project. The System Software product group is lead by NASA Engineering Control and Data Systems branch (NEC3) at Kennedy Space Center. The team is working on creating Operating System Images (OSI) for different platforms (i.e. AIX, Linux, Solaris and Windows). Before the OSI can be created, the team must create a Content Document which provides the information of a workstation or server, with the list of all the software that is to be installed on it and also the set where the hardware belongs. This can be for example in the LDS, the ADS or the FR-l. The objective of this project is to create a User Interface Web application that can manage the information of the Content Documents, with all the correct validations and filters for administrator purposes. For this project we used one of the most excellent tools in agile development applications called Ruby on Rails. This tool helps pragmatic programmers develop Web applications with Rails framework and Ruby programming language. It is very amazing to see how a student can learn about OOP features with the Ruby language, manage the user interface with HTML and CSS, create associations and queries with gems, manage databases and run a server with MYSQL, run shell commands with command prompt and create Web frameworks with Rails. All of this in a real world project and in just fifteen weeks!

Language supports design and documentation of complex software. Included are: design and documentation language for expressing design concepts; processor that produces intelligble documentation based on design specifications; and methodology for using language and processor to create well-structured top-down programs and documentation. Processor is written in SIMSCRIPT 11.5 programming language for use on UNIVAC, IBM, and CDC machines.

The safety strategy of the Superconducting Super Collider (SSC) Central Design Group (CDG) is to mitigate potential hazards to personnel, as far as possible, through appropriate measures in the design and engineering of the facility. The Safety Review Document identifies, on the basis of the Conceptual Design Report (CDR) and related studies, potential hazards inherent in the SSC project independent of its site. Mitigative measures in the design of facilities and in the structuring of laboratory operations are described for each of the hazards identified.

The Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) Program Management System Manual requires preparation of the OCRWM Regulatory Guidance Document (RGD) that addresses licensing, environmental compliance, and safety and health compliance. The document provides: regulatory compliance policy; guidance to OCRWM organizational elements to ensure a consistent approach when complying with regulatory requirements; strategies to achieve policy objectives; organizational responsibilities for regulatory compliance; guidance with regard to Program compliance oversight; and guidance on the contents of a project-level Regulatory Compliance Plan. The scope of the RGD includes site suitability evaluation, licensing, environmental compliance, and safety and health compliance, in accordance with the direction provided by Section 4.6.3 of the PMS Manual. Site suitability evaluation and regulatory compliance during site characterization are significant activities, particularly with regard to the YW MSA. OCRWM`s evaluation of whether the Yucca Mountain site is suitable for repository development must precede its submittal of a license application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Accordingly, site suitability evaluation is discussed in Chapter 4, and the general statements of policy regarding site suitability evaluation are discussed in Section 2.1. Although much of the data and analyses may initially be similar, the licensing process is discussed separately in Chapter 5. Environmental compliance is discussed in Chapter 6. Safety and Health compliance is discussed in Chapter 7.

The authors' study in 1983 revealed that the whole-body vibration of the tractor units of freight containers was most hazardous in the back-to-chest directions (x-axis). The allowable exposure time was considerably shorter than that for heavy duty trucks. The low back pain (LBP) among the drivers seemed to be due to the long working hours and the ergonomically unsound tractor design, as well as the vibration. A preventative measure was the introduction of a tractor cab suspended by an air spring instead of a steel spring. In 1992, a follow-up field study was conducted. A personal vibration exposure meter developed by us measured the whole-body vibration on eight tractors. Eighty-nine triplets matched with the age and the years of driving tractors answered a questionnaire evaluation of the ergonomics of their tractor units.The comparison of the newest steel suspension vehicles to the old ones produced by the same motor company revealed that in thex-axis the vibration level had decreased by as much as 4 to 9 dB. Some tractors showed an increase in vibration in the buttocks-to-head direction (z-axis). However, such adverse changes seemed not to affect evaluations according to the fatigue-decreased proficiency boundary (FDP) and the exposure limit (EL) recommended in ISO 2631-1978. The present models, regardless of the type of suspension, changed the direction of the most hazardous vibration from thex-axis to thez-axis. However, the effect of the air-suspension was not so remarkable as expected. Among 40% of drivers seemed to exceed the FDP boundary during a day.The questionnaire study showed an improvement in the ergonomic evaluation of the tractors. The air suspension models seemed to induce less LBP than the steel suspension models.

The distribution of NASTRAN User Manual information has been difficult because of the delay in printing and difficulty in identification of all the users. This has caused many users not to have the current information for the release of NASTRAN that could be available to them. The User Manual updates have been supplied with the NASTRAN Releases, but distribution within organizations was not coordinated with access to releases. The Executive Control, Case Control, and Bulk Data sections are supplied in machine readable format with the 91 Release of NASTRAN. This information is supplied on the release tapes in ASCII format, and a FORTRAN program to access this information is supplied on the release tapes. This will allow each user to have immediate access to User Manual level documentation with the release. The sections on utilities, plotting, and substructures are expected to be prepared for the 92 Release.

We address the problem of content-based image retrieval in the context of complex document images. Complex documents typically start out on paper and are then electronically scanned. These documents have rich internal structure and might only be available in image form. Additionally, they may have been produced by a combination of printing technologies (or by handwriting); and include diagrams, graphics, tables and other non-textual elements. Large collections of such complex documents are commonly found in legal and security investigations. The indexing and analysis of large document collections is currently limited to textual features based OCR data and ignore the structural context of the document as well as important non-textual elements such as signatures, logos, stamps, tables, diagrams, and images. Handwritten comments are also normally ignored due to the inherent complexity of offline handwriting recognition. We address important research issues concerning content-based document image retrieval and describe a prototype for integrated retrieval and aggregation of diverse information contained in scanned paper documents we are developing. Such complex document information processing combines several forms of image processing together with textual/linguistic processing to enable effective analysis of complex document collections, a necessity for a wide range of applications. Our prototype automatically generates rich metadata about a complex document and then applies query tools to integrate the metadata with text search. To ensure a thorough evaluation of the effectiveness of our prototype, we are developing a test collection containing millions of document images.

A communications medium to support the design and documentation of complex software applications is studied. The medium also provides the following: (1) a processor which can convert design specifications into an intelligible, informative machine reproducible document; (2) a design and documentation language with forms and syntax that are simple, unrestrictive, and communicative; and (3) methodology for effective use of the language and processor.

In the last decades, the documentation of endangered languages has advanced greatly in the Americas. In this paper we survey the role that international funding programs have played in advancing documentation in this part of the world, with a particular focus on the growth of documentation in Brazil, and we examine some of the major opportunities…

This report describes the MFIX (Multiphase Flow with Interphase exchanges) computer model. MFIX is a general-purpose hydrodynamic model that describes chemical reactions and heat transfer in dense or dilute fluid-solids flows, flows typically occurring in energy conversion and chemical processing reactors. MFIX calculations give detailed information on pressure, temperature, composition, and velocity distributions in the reactors. With such information, the engineer can visualize the conditions in the reactor, conduct parametric studies and what-if experiments, and, thereby, assist in the design process. The MFIX model, developed at the Morgantown Energy Technology Center (METC), has the following capabilities: mass and momentum balance equations for gas and multiple solids phases; a gas phase and two solids phase energy equations; an arbitrary number of species balance equations for each of the phases; granular stress equations based on kinetic theory and frictional flow theory; a user-defined chemistry subroutine; three-dimensional Cartesian or cylindrical coordinate systems; nonuniform mesh size; impermeable and semi-permeable internal surfaces; user-friendly input data file; multiple, single-precision, binary, direct-access, output files that minimize disk storage and accelerate data retrieval; and extensive error reporting. This report, which is Volume 1 of the code documentation, describes the hydrodynamic theory used in the model: the conservation equations, constitutive relations, and the initial and boundary conditions. The literature on the hydrodynamic theory is briefly surveyed, and the bases for the different parts of the model are highlighted.

Since 2001, the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner has collaborated with Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center Violence Intervention Program and their Sexual Assault Center. The partnership was established at the suggestion of the district attorney's office to enhance the clinical recognition of sexual assault in the medical examiner's office using the extensive experience of experts in the field of sexual assault. As of December 2008, over 5 dozen victims of sexual assault have been evaluated with this collaboration. The partnership relied on the expertise of 2 pediatricians who are established clinical experts in the field of sexual abuse and assault, in collaboration with the staff of the medical examiner's office. In cases of suspected sexual assault, a joint evaluation by the clinical experts and the medical examiner was made. The goal of the project was for the medical examiners to become more confident in their observations and documentation of crimes of sexual abuse. Even though they are still available upon request, consultations with the sexual assault experts have decreased as the skills of the medical examiner to evaluate sexual assault cases have increased. PMID:22442832

Treatment of ship ballast water with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is one method currently being developed to minimize the risk to introduce aquatic invasive species. The bactericidal capability of sodium hydroxide was determined for 148 bacterial strains from ballast water collected in 2009 and 2010 from the M/V Indiana Harbor, a bulk-freight carrier plying the Laurentian Great Lakes, USA. Primary culture of bacteria was done using brain heart infusion agar and a developmental medium. Strains were characterized based on PCR amplification and sequencing of a portion of the 16S rRNA gene. Sequence similarities (99+ %) were determined by comparison with the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) GenBank catalog. Flavobacterium spp. were the most prevalent bacteria characterized in 2009, comprising 51.1% (24/47) of the total, and Pseudomonas spp. (62/101; 61.4%) and Brevundimonas spp. (22/101; 21.8%) were the predominate bacteria recovered in 2010; together, comprising 83.2% (84/101) of the total. Testing was done in tryptic soy broth (TSB) medium adjusted with 5 N NaOH. Growth of each strain was evaluated at pH 10.0, pH 11.0 and pH 12.0, and 4 h up to 72 h. The median cell count at 0 h for 148 cultures was 5.20 × 10(6) cfu/mL with a range 1.02 × 10(5)-1.60 × 10(8) cfu/mL. The TSB adjusted to pH 10.0 and incubation for less than 24 h was bactericidal to 52 (35.1%) strains. Growth in pH 11.0 TSB for less than 4 h was bactericidal to 131 (88.5%) strains and pH 11.0 within 12 h was bactericidal to 141 (95.3%). One strain, Bacillus horikoshii, survived the harshest treatment, pH 12.0 for 72 h. PMID:26257948

Treatment of ship ballast water with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) is one method currently being developed to minimize the risk to introduce aquatic invasive species. The bactericidal capability of sodium hydroxide was determined for 148 bacterial strains from ballast water collected in 2009 and 2010 from the M/V Indiana Harbor, a bulk-freight carrier plying the Laurentian Great Lakes, USA. Primary culture of bacteria was done using brain heart infusion agar and a developmental medium. Strains were characterized based on PCR amplification and sequencing of a portion of the 16S rRNA gene. Sequence similarities (99+ %) were determined by comparison with the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) GenBank catalog. Flavobacterium spp. were the most prevalent bacteria characterized in 2009, comprising 51.1% (24/47) of the total, and Pseudomonas spp. (62/101; 61.4%) and Brevundimonas spp. (22/101; 21.8%) were the predominate bacteria recovered in 2010; together, comprising 83.2% (84/101) of the total. Testing was done in tryptic soy broth (TSB) medium adjusted with 5 N NaOH. Growth of each strain was evaluated at pH 10.0, pH 11.0 and pH 12.0, and 4 h up to 72 h. The median cell count at 0 h for 148 cultures was 5.20 × 106 cfu/mL with a range 1.02 × 105–1.60 × 108 cfu/mL. The TSB adjusted to pH 10.0 and incubation for less than 24 h was bactericidal to 52 (35.1%) strains. Growth in pH 11.0 TSB for less than 4 h was bactericidal to 131 (88.5%) strains and pH 11.0 within 12 h was bactericidal to 141 (95.3%). One strain, Bacillus horikoshii, survived the harshest treatment, pH 12.0 for 72 h. PMID:26257948

While many educational institutions pay lip service to quality, often the very documents they produce, such as training handbooks and reference manuals, are not themselves of high quality. Quality documentation helps employees find what they are looking for, know when and where to ask for help, and become more independent. At Central Piedmont…

This module is the eighth of 10 in the Essential Communication and Documentation Skills curriculum. It develops skill in form documentation, a workplace literacy skill identified as being directly related to the job of the direct care worker. The curriculum is designed to improve the competence of New York State Division for Youth (DFY) direct…

The recent natural gas boom has opened much discussion about the potential of natural gas and specifically Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in the United States transportation sector. The switch from diesel to natural gas vehicles would reduce foreign dependence on oil, spur domestic economic growth, and potentially reduce greenhouse gas emissions. LNG provides the most potential for the medium to heavy-duty vehicle market partially due to unstable oil prices and stagnant natural gas prices. As long as the abundance of unconventional gas in the United States remains cheap, fuel switching to natural gas could provide significant cost savings for long haul freight industry. Amid a growing LNG station network and ever increasing demand for freight movement, LNG heavy-duty truck sales are less than anticipated and the industry as a whole is less economic than expected. In spite of much existing and mature natural gas infrastructure, the supply chain for LNG is different and requires explicit and careful planning. This thesis proposes research to explore the claim that the largest obstacle to widespread LNG market penetration is sub-optimal infrastructure planning. No other study we are aware of has explicitly explored the LNG transportation fuel supply chain for heavy-duty freight trucks. This thesis presents a novel methodology that links a network infrastructure optimization model (represents supply side) with a vehicle stock and economic payback model (represents demand side). The model characterizes both a temporal and spatial optimization model of future LNG transportation fuel supply chains in the United States. The principal research goal is to assess the economic feasibility of the current LNG transportation fuel industry and to determine an optimal pathway to achieve ubiquitous commercialization of LNG vehicles in the heavy-duty transport sector. The results indicate that LNG is not economic as a heavy-duty truck fuel until 2030 under current market conditions

Describes significant attributes of expert systems, contrasts them to conventional computer systems, and provides an overview of the R1 expert system used by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) to put together operational systems that meet customers' requirements. Document handling, particularly pictures and images in documents, is also briefly…

Reg Stat, a new Web site produced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), provides information about EPA documents published in the Federal Register from 2005 to 2009. EPA publishes between 1700 and 1900 documents in the Federal Register each year. For more information, visit Reg Stat at http://www.epa.gov/regstat.

Presents three documents related to the Columbus Quincentenary and indigenous populations. Includes the Declaration of Quito (Ecuador) of July 21, 1990; the final text of the Declaration of Xelaju (Guatemala); and the document "After the 500 Years: Indigenous and Peoples' Unity Proposals for Political Action." (CFR)

The purpose of this Document is to provide a source of ecological information based on the exiting knowledge gained from research conducted at the Savannah River Site. This document provides a summary and synthesis of ecological research in the three main ecosystem types found at SRS and information on the threatened and endangered species residing there.

Discusses three innovative Internet-based electronic document delivery systems: Ariel, developed by the Research Libraries Group; Digitized Document Transmission Project, developed by North Carolina State University; and Network Fax Project, developed by Ohio State University. System are compared in terms of equipment, operation, advantages and…

Describes the development of a structural model of document retrieval based on lexical-semantic relationships between index terms. An algorithm that uses tree-to-tree distance to measure structural closeness between a document and a query statement is explained, and the proposed model is compared to a vector retrieval model. (18 references) (LRW)

Designed as a basic reference for federal personnel concerned with the development, maintenance, enhancement, control, and management of computer-based systems, this manual provides a general overview of the software development process and software documentation issues so that managers can assess their own documentation requirements. Reference is…

NIST Scientific and Technical Document Database (PC database for purchase) The images in NIST Special Database 20 contain a very rich set of graphic elements from scientific and technical documents, such as graphs, tables, equations, two column text, maps, pictures, footnotes, annotations, and arrays of such elements.

This bibliography of government documents for use in classroom instruction is meant to aid teachers and students, from upper elementary through secondary levels, in identifying resources from two primary providers: National Archives and Records Administration and the publishing company SIRS, Inc. The bibliographic entries point to documents that…

Mississippi Space Services (MSS) the facility services contractor for NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC), is utilizing technology to improve engineering documentation and data control. Two identified improvement areas, labor intensive documentation research and outdated drafting standards, were targeted as top priority. MSS selected AutoManager(R) WorkFlow from Cyco software to manage engineering documentation. The software is currently installed on over 150 desctops. The outdated SSC drafting standard was written for pre-CADD drafting methods, in other words, board drafting. Implementation of COTS software solutions to manage engineering documentation and update the drafting standard resulted in significant increases in productivity by reducing the time spent searching for documents.

General conceptual requirements for standard levels of documentation and for application of these requirements to intended usages. These standards encourage the policy to produce only those forms of documentation that are needed and adequate for the purpose. Documentation standards are defined with respect to detail and format quality. Classes A through D range, in order, from the most definitive down to the least definitive, and categories 1 through 4 range, in order, from high-quality typeset down to handwritten material. Criteria for each of the classes and categories, as well as suggested selection guidelines for each are given.

The Grants Document-Generation System (GDGS) software allows the generation of official grants documents for distribution to the appropriate parties. The documents are created after the selection and entry of specific data elements and clauses. GDGS is written in Cold Fusion that resides on an SQL2000 database and is housed on-site at Goddard Space Flight Center. It includes access security written around GSFC's (Goddard Space Flight Center's) LIST system, and allows for the entry of Procurement Request information necessary for the generation of the resulting Grant Award.

This report documents the objectives, analytical approach, and design of the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) Renewable Fuels Module (RFM) as it relates to the production of the Annual Energy Outlook forecasts.

This paper considers how to verify provenance and integrity of data in medical documents that are exchanged in a distributed system of health IT services. Provenance refers to the sources of health information within the document and integrity means that the information was not modified after generation by the source. Our approach allows intermediate parties to redact the document by removing information that they do not wish to reveal. For example, patients can store verifiable health information and provide subsets of it to third parties, while redacting sensitive information that they do not wish employers, insurers, or others to receive. Our method uses a cryptographic primitive known as a redactable signature. We study practical issues and performance impacts of building, redacting, and verifying Continuity of Care Documents (CCDs) that are protected with redactable signatures. Results show that manipulating redactable CCDs provides superior security and privacy with little computational overhead. PMID:23304391

Search aspects of a system for analyzing handwritten documents are described. Documents are indexed using global image features, e.g., stroke width, slant as well as local features that describe the shapes of words and characters. Image indexing is done automatically using page analysis, page segmentation, line separation, word segmentation and recognition of words and characters. Two types of search are permitted: search based on global features of entire document and search using features at local level. For the second type of search, i.e., local, all the words in the document are characterized and indexed by various features and it forms the basis of different search techniques. The paper focuses on local search and describes four tasks: word/phrase spotting, text to image, image to text and plain text. Performance in terms of precision/recall and word ranking is reported on a database of handwriting samples from about 1,000 individuals.

Search aspects of a system for analyzing handwritten documents are described. Documents are indexed using global image features, e.g., stroke width, slant as well as local features that describe the shapes of words and characters. Image indexing is done automatically using page analysis, page segmentation, line separation, word segmentation and recognition of words and characters. Two types of search are permitted: search based on global features of entire document and search using features at local level. For the second type of search, i.e., local, all the words in the document are characterized and indexed by various features and it forms the basis of different search techniques. The paper focuses on local search and describes four tasks: word/phrase spotting, text to image, image to text and plain text. Performance in terms of precision/recall and word ranking is reported on a database of handwriting samples from about 1,000 individuals.

By keeping records, facts can be presented to the public accurately. Examples are given regarding custodian training, stressing the importance of job descriptions, work schedules, and documented training procedures. (Author/MLF)

Vietnamese is very different from English and little research has been done on Vietnamese document classification, or indeed, on any kind of Vietnamese language processing, and only a few small corpora are available for research. We created a large Vietnamese text corpus with about 18000 documents, and manually classified them based on different criteria such as topics and styles, giving several classification tasks of different difficulty levels. This paper introduces a new syllable-based document representation at the morphological level of the language for efficient classification. We tested the representation on our corpus with different classification tasks using six classification algorithms and two feature selection techniques. Our experiments show that the new representation is effective for Vietnamese categorization, and suggest that best performance can be achieved using syllable-pair document representation, an SVM with a polynomial kernel as the learning algorithm, and using Information gain and an external dictionary for feature selection.

Outlines the process of planning and developing a multimedia documentation project. Discusses audience, task, and information analysis; selection of the most appropriate media; effective design; establishment of the development team; hardware and software requirements; costs; and project planning. (SR)

The Quarantine Document System (QDS) is described including the indexing procedures and thesaurus of indexing terms. The QDS consists of these functional elements: acquisition, cataloging, indexing, storage, and retrieval. A complete listing of the collection, and the thesaurus are included.

This slide presentation reviews the effort of code EA at Johnson Space Center (JSC) to identify and acquire databases and documents from the space shuttle program that are adjudged important for retention after the retirement of the space shuttle.

Documents the objectives, analytical approach and development of the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) Transportation Model (TRAN). The report catalogues and describes the model assumptions, computational methodology, parameter estimation techniques, model source code, and forecast results generated by the model.

Technique utilizes automated electronic data-processing machine to successfully recover illegible information from faded or age distorted documents. Once recovered, information can be displayed on cathode-ray-tube screen or reproduced in any desired size.

The purpose of this document is to define, document, and allocate the Human Research Program (HRP) requirements to the HRP Program elements. It establishes the flow-down of requirements from Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) and Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer (OCHMO) to the various Program Elements of the HRP to ensure that human research and technology countermeasure investments are made to insure the delivery of countermeasures and technologies that satisfy ESMD s and OCHMO's exploration mission requirements.

The extraction of keywords and features is a fundamental problem in text data mining. Document processing applications directly depend on the quality and speed of the identification of salient terms and phrases. Applications as disparate as automatic document classification, information visualization, filtering and security policy enforcement all rely on the quality of automatically extracted keywords. Recently, a novel approach to rapid change detection in data streams and documents has been developed. It is based on ideas from image processing and in particular on the Helmholtz Principle from the Gestalt Theory of human perception. By modeling a document as a one-parameter family of graphs with its sentences or paragraphs defining the vertex set and with edges defined by Helmholtz's principle, we demonstrated that for some range of the parameters, the resulting graph becomes a small-world network. In this article we investigate the natural orientation of edges in such small world networks. For two connected sentences, we can say which one is the first and which one is the second, according to their position in a document. This will make such a graph look like a small WWW-type network and PageRank type algorithms will produce interesting ranking of nodes in such a document.

MEANS is an acronym for the MIT Extensible Air Network Simulation. MIT is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where MEANS was developed. MEANS models the flow of aircraft in a simulation of the US National Airspace System. It can optionally follow the flow of passengers as well. The flight model takes the form of several queues through which the aircraft pass, as well as delays at certain times; the passengers can be transported via flights. MEANS is an event-based model. This means that events are scheduled at some point in the future, and once an event has executed, the simulation t h e advances to that of the next event. This is a different approach than some simulations (particularly those of physical systems), where time is advanced in fixed increments and the state of the system is updated at each step.This documentation is a "user guide" for MEANS - it describes how to USE means, not write new modules. For programming instructions, see the programming documentation, available as a separate document.This document assumse no programming knowledge. It will describe how to run MEANS, understand the data formats, and use such utility programs as already exist. For more detailed information on the internal workings of MEANS, and how to programmatically add to it, refer to the programming documentation.

Intended for use by the Computerized Documentation System (CDS), the Unesco version of ISIS (Integrated Set of Information Systems)--originally developed by the International Labour Organization--was developed in 1975 and named CDS/ISIS. This system has a comprehensive collection of programs for input, management, and output, running in batch or…

This collection of documents intend to assess the latest scientific information on the health and environmental fate and effects of lead to provide scientific bases for periodic review and possible revision of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for lead.

The purpose of this report is to define the objectives of the Propane Market Model (PMM), describe its basic approach, and to provide details on model functions. This report is intended as a reference document for model analysts, users, and the general public. Documentation of the model is in accordance with EIA`s legal obligation to provide adequate documentation in support of its models. The PMM performs a short-term (6- to 9-months) forecast of demand and price for consumer-grad propane in the national US market; it also calculates the end-of-month stock level during the term of the forecast. Another part of the model allows for short-term demand forecasts for certain individual Petroleum Administration for Defense (PAD) districts. The model is used to analyze market behavior assumptions or shocks and to determine the effect on market price, demand, and stock level.

The Savannah River Site (SRS) produces nuclear materials, primarily plutonium and tritium, to meet the requirements of the Department of Defense. These products have been formed in nuclear reactors that were built during 1950--1955 at the SRS. K, L, and P reactors are three of five reactors that have been used in the past to produce the nuclear materials. All three of these reactors discontinued operation in 1988. Currently, intense efforts are being extended to prepare these three reactors for restart in a manner that protects human health and the environment. To document that restarting the reactors will have minimal impacts to human health and the environment, a three-volume Reactor Operations Environmental Impact Document has been prepared. The document focuses on the impacts of restarting the K, L, and P reactors on both the SRS and surrounding areas. This volume discusses the geology, seismology, and subsurface hydrology. 195 refs., 101 figs., 16 tabs.

This paper presents a novel solution for the layout segmentation of graphical elements in Business Intelligence documents. We propose a generalization of the recursive X-Y cut algorithm, which allows for cutting along arbitrary oblique directions. An intermediate processing step consisting of line and solid region removal is also necessary due to presence of decorative elements. The output of the proposed segmentation is a hierarchical structure which allows for the identification of primitives in pie and bar charts. The algorithm was tested on a database composed of charts from business documents. Results are very promising.

The following document is presented in six sections: (1) introduction; (2) a diagram showing how the various routines are grouped together into functional modules; (3) a printout of all the layouts in the system along with their associated layout procedures; (4) listings of all the global procedures in the system; (5) a cross-reference of all identifiers used in the system; and (6) descriptions of the external procedures used in the system. The document was prepared at the Project ICON Image Scaling Laboratory.

The Computer Incident Advisory Capability (CIAC) creates public information documents for the Dept. of Energy (DOE) related to computer security. These documents, known as the CIAC-2300 Series documents, are primarily concerned with information on security threats and methods for protecting systems from those threats. This document is a compilation of the abstracts of these documents.

A document creation and citation system designed to maintain a database of reference documents. The content of a selected document may be automatically scanned and indexed by the system. The selected documents may also be manually indexed by a user prior to the upload. The indexed documents may be uploaded and stored within a database for later use. The system allows a user to generate new documents by selecting content within the reference documents stored within the database and inserting the selected content into a new document. The system allows the user to customize and augment the content of the new document. The system also generates citations to the selected content retrieved from the reference documents. The citations may be inserted into the new document in the appropriate location and format, as directed by the user. The new document may be uploaded into the database and included with the other reference documents. The system also maintains the database of reference documents so that when changes are made to a reference document, the author of a document referencing the changed document will be alerted to make appropriate changes to his document. The system also allows visual comparison of documents so that the user may see differences in the text of the documents.

Discusses problems and as-yet unresolved questions about public access to government documents raised by electronic publishing. One solution is libraries should adapt to include electronic files of government publications and include them in the growing digital collections. The way that librarians approach the struggle to maintain free and open…

Documents the objectives, analytical approach, and development of the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) Macroeconomic Activity Module (MAM) used to develop the Annual Energy Outlook for 2014 (AEO2014). The report catalogues and describes the module assumptions, computations, methodology, parameter estimation techniques, and mainframe source code

In machine learning and data mining, multidimensional scaling (MDS) and MDS-like methods are extensively used for dimensionality reduction and for gaining insights into overwhelming amounts of data through visualization. With the growth of the Web and activities of Web users, the amount of data not only grows exponentially but is also becoming available in the form of streams, where new data instances constantly flow into the system, requiring the algorithm to update the model in near-real time. This paper presents an algorithm for document stream visualization through a MDS-like distance-preserving projection onto a 2D canvas. The visualization algorithm is essentially a pipeline employing several methods from machine learning. Experimental verification shows that each stage of the pipeline is able to process a batch of documents in constant time. It is shown that in the experimental setting with a limited buffer capacity and a constant document batch size, it is possible to process roughly 2.5 documents per second which corresponds to approximately 25% of the entire blogosphere rate and should be sufficient for most real-life applications.

This document was developed in response to the expressed need of physical science teachers for materials designed to facilitate and enhance the teaching of the 1999 North Carolina Standard Course of Study for Physical Science. The materials provide a guide to translating the goals and objectives of the Physical Science curriculum into good…

The World Wide Web is a powerful and versatile resource for documents librarians. It can serve as a source of information for patrons looking for government information, as a means of publicizing and distributing local information and services beyond the walls of the depository library, as a tool for more effective administration of a documents…

Documents the objectives, analytical approach, and development of the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) Macroeconomic Activity Module (MAM) used to develop the Annual Energy Outlook for 2016 (AEO2016). The report catalogues and describes the module assumptions, computations, methodology, parameter estimation techniques, and mainframe source code

Discusses the conversion of fragile library materials to computer storage and retrieval to extend the life of the items and to improve accessibility through the World Wide Web. Highlights include entering the images, including scanning; optical character recognition; full text and manual indexing; and available document- and image-management…

Notes that student writers gain greater insight into the importance of audience by analyzing business documents. Discusses how business writing teachers can help students understand the rhetorical refinements of writing to an audience. Presents an assignment designed to lead writers systematically through an analysis of two advertisements. (SG)

The purpose of these protocols is to assist in providing guidance to PMRT members and Sub-groups in relation to seeking approval for the publication of documents of the Performance Measurement and Reporting Taskforce (PMRT) or of its predecessor the National Education Performance Monitoring Taskforce (NEPMT). These protocols complement the…

Database techniques to store, query and manipulate data that contains uncertainty receives increasing research interest. Such UDBMSs can be classified according to their underlying data model: relational, XML, or RDF. We focus on uncertain XML DBMS with as representative example the Probabilistic XML model (PXML) of [10,9]. The size of a PXML document is obviously a factor in performance. There are PXML-specific techniques to reduce the size, such as a push down mechanism, that produces equivalent but more compact PXML documents. It can only be applied, however, where possibilities are dependent. For normal XML documents there also exist several techniques for compressing a document. Since Probabilistic XML is (a special form of) normal XML, it might benefit from these methods even more. In this paper, we show that existing compression mechanisms can be combined with PXML-specific compression techniques. We also show that best compression rates are obtained with a combination of PXML-specific technique with a rather simple generic DAG-compression technique.

Discussion of XML, information retrieval, precision, and recall focuses on a retrieval technique that adopts the similarity measure of the vector space model, incorporates the document structure, and supports structured queries. Topics include a query model based on tree matching; structured queries and term-based ranking; and term frequency and…

A description of the system used by Space Documentation Service (SDS) to disseminate combined and accumulated knowledge, as widely as possible, throughout Europe is given. The RECON network, with the full support of NASA, has gradually been extended so that centers in Member States, may, by installing their own terminals, have direct access to the…

States that litigation over the interpretation and sufficiency of technical documentation is increasingly common as a number of suits have been filed in state and federal courts. Describes the case of "Martin versus Hacker," a recent case in which New York's highest court analyzed a technical writer's prose in the context of a lawsuit over a…

Documentation centers are needed to handle the vast amount of scientific and technical information currently being issued. Such centers should be concerned both with handling inquiries in a particular field and with producing a general catalog of current information. Automatic analysis of texts by computers will be the best way to handle material,…

This document describes the proposed strategy for disposal of spent and failed melters from the tank waste treatment plant to be built by the Office of River Protection at the Hanford site in Washington. It describes program management activities, disposal and transportation systems, leachate management, permitting, and safety authorization basis approvals needed to execute the strategy.

One of the many important aspects of the Darfur Atrocities Documentation Project was that it set a precedent for what the U.S. and/or other nations can, and should do, when future cases of potential genocide arise. Far too often in the recent past, the international community (the United Nations, individual governments, many nongovernmental…

In this article I argue for the defining importance of document study for researchers in curriculum. Two examples of previous analyses are provided, one demonstrating an approach to language analysis of the "Australian Curriculum: English" from the Literature strand, the other a study of the relationship of curricula to each other in…

Documents the objectives and the conceptual and methodological approach used in the development of the National Energy Modeling System's (NEMS) Coal Market Module (CMM) used to develop the Annual Energy Outlook 2014 (AEO2014). This report catalogues and describes the assumptions, methodology, estimation techniques, and source code of CMM's two submodules. These are the Coal Production Submodule (CPS) and the Coal Distribution Submodule (CDS).

The FES documentation files are presented in Adobe Acrobat or Word files, either in executable or ZIP format to be maximally compatible with the computer system being downloaded into. The files are large in any format and should be downloaded with a fast Internet link.

Explains the use of a topological structure to examine the closeness between documents in retrieval systems and analyzes the topological structure of a vector-space model, a fuzzy-set model, an extended Boolean model, a probabilistic model, and a TIRS (Topological Information Retrieval System) model. Proofs for the results are appended. (17…

Discussion of hypermedia systems focuses on a comparison of two types of adaptive algorithm (genetic algorithm and neural network) in clustering hypermedia documents. These clusters allow the user to index into the nodes to find needed information more quickly, since clustering is "personalized" based on the user's paths rather than representing…

This report provides the documentation for a proposed interactive videodisk to be produced for use in orienting freshman students to the Harvey A. Andruss Library of Bloomsburg University (Pennsylvania). A rationale for the project and a plan of action are followed by a production time line and tentative program outline. An outline of the library…

Documents the objectives, analytical approach and development of the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS) Commercial Sector Demand Module. The report catalogues and describes the model assumptions, computational methodology, parameter estimation techniques, model source code, and forecast results generated through the synthesis and scenario development based on these components.

This document describes the interface between the LCLS XTOD System (WBS No.1.5) and the LCLS XES (WBS No.1.6). The interface locations ranging from the beam dump to the far experimental hall are identified. Subsystems that connect at or cross the boundary are identified.

The Document Delivery Service offered by Chemical Abstracts is described in terms of the DIALORDER option on the Dialog information retrieval system, mail requests, and requests transmitted through OCLC's Interlibrary Loan system. Transmission costs, success rates, delivery rates, and other considerations in utilizing the service are included.…

The purpose of this revision of the System Design Description (SDD) is to establish requirements that drive the design of the electrical support system and their bases to allow the design effort to proceed to License Application. This SDD is a living document that will be revised at strategic points as the design matures over time. This SDD identifies the requirements and describes the system design as they exist at this time, with emphasis on those attributes of the design provided to meet the requirements. This SDD has been developed to be an engineering tool for design control. Accordingly, the primary audience/users are design engineers. This type of SDD both ''leads'' and ''trails'' the design process. It leads the design process with regard to the flow down of upper tier requirements onto the system. Knowledge of these requirements is essential in performing the design process. The SDD trails the design with regard to the description of the system. The description provided in the SDD is a reflection of the results of the design process to date. Functional and operational requirements applicable to electrical support systems are obtained from the ''Project Functional and Operational Requirements'' (F&OR) (Siddoway 2003). Other requirements to support the design process have been taken from higher-level requirements documents such as the ''Project Design Criteria Document'' (PDC) (Doraswamy 2004), and fire hazards analyses. The above-mentioned low-level documents address ''Project Requirements Document'' (PRD) (Canon and Leitner 2003) requirements. This SDD contains several appendices that include supporting information. Appendix B lists key system charts, diagrams, drawings, and lists, and Appendix C includes a list of system procedures.

The purpose of this system description document (SDD) is to establish requirements that drive the design of the spent nuclear fuel (SNF) aging system and associated bases, which will allow the design effort to proceed. This SDD will be revised at strategic points as the design matures. This SDD identifies the requirements and describes the system design, as it currently exists, with emphasis on attributes of the design provided to meet the requirements. This SDD is an engineering tool for design control; accordingly, the primary audience and users are design engineers. This SDD is part of an iterative design process. It leads the design process with regard to the flow down of upper tier requirements onto the system. Knowledge of these requirements is essential in performing the design process. The SDD follows the design with regard to the description of the system. The description provided in the SDD reflects the current results of the design process. Throughout this SDD, the term aging cask applies to vertical site-specific casks and to horizontal aging modules. The term overpack is a vertical site-specific cask that contains a dual-purpose canister (DPC) or a disposable canister. Functional and operational requirements applicable to this system were obtained from ''Project Functional and Operational Requirements'' (F&OR) (Curry 2004 [DIRS 170557]). Other requirements that support the design process were taken from documents such as ''Project Design Criteria Document'' (PDC) (BSC 2004 [DES 171599]), ''Site Fire Hazards Analyses'' (BSC 2005 [DIRS 172174]), and ''Nuclear Safety Design Bases for License Application'' (BSC 2005 [DIRS 171512]). The documents address requirements in the ''Project Requirements Document'' (PRD) (Canori and Leitner 2003 [DIRS 166275]). This SDD includes several appendices. Appendix A is a Glossary; Appendix B is a list of key system charts, diagrams, drawings, lists and additional supporting information; and Appendix C is a list of

SO WHAT IS AN RFI? IT WAS ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I learned about back when I started my project management career with my first large construction firm. I learned how to use these forms as a convenient and effective means of documenting the many legitimate clarifications needed on a major project. However, like most other young engineers, I also learned to use the RFI as a weapon in the ongoing battle between owners. or their designer and the construction contractors. Recently, our project team has done a few simple things to greatly reduce the waste and frustration that comes from this type of battle. The RFI form can be a great tool if used properly, and I certainly don t recommend that they be eliminated entirely. The RFI form was created to document the many clarifications that are commonly required on projects. Typically, the contractor uses the top half of the form to clarify-or request permission to vary from-the contract documents. The bottom half of the form is used to record the answer. But this seemingly simple process is plagued by a number of problems. From the contractor s perspective, RFIs are needed to secure information that should have been in the contract documents in the first place. The missing information keeps their crews from working effectively, and it makes hitting already demanding cost and schedule targets even more difficult. Owners, or their design firms, often view the RFI as a means of harassment. Both sides of the issue have legitimate complaints, and both sides cause most of their own pain.

As the Tangut studies have made progress, a considerable number of Tangut historical documents' copies have been published. It is of great importance to carry out digitalization and domestication of these copies. The paper firstly makes an initial processing of images by global threshold, then dissect the photocopies by scanning. Finally adopts the recognition approach of principal component analysis. The experiment shows that a better recognition can be achieved by calculation without extra time.

Annex II of the Medical Device Directive (MDD) is used frequently by manufacturers to obtain CE-marking. This procedure relies on a full quality assurance system and does not require an assessment of the individual medical device by a Notified Body. An investigation into the availability and the quality of technical documentation for Annex II devices revealed severe shortcomings, which are reported here. PMID:16419921

This document provides a compilation of environments knowledge about the planet Mars. Information is divided into three catagories: (1) interplanetary space environments (environments required by the technical community to travel to and from Mars); (2) atmospheric environments (environments needed to aerocapture, aerobrake, or use aeroassist for precision trajectories down to the surface); and (3) surface environments (environments needed to have robots or explorers survive and work on the surface).

This document provides information on expenditures and staffing levels at Sandia National Laboratories/New Mexico (SNL/NM). This report is based on the best available information obtained from Sandia Corporation for Fiscal Years 2008 and 2009, and was prepared in support of future analyses, including those that may be performed as part of the SNL/NM Site-Wide Environmental Impact Statement.

Documents the Electricity Market Module as it was used for the Annual Energy Outlook 2013. The Electricity Market Module (EMM) is the electricity supply component of the National Energy Modeling System (NEMS). The EMM represents the generation, transmission, and pricing of electricity. It consists of four submodules: the Electricity Capacity Planning (ECP) Submodule, the Electricity Fuel Dispatch (EFD) Submodule, the Electricity Finance and Pricing (EFP) Submodule, and the Electricity Load and Demand (ELD) Submodule.

Image binarization is a difficult task for documents with text over textured or shaded backgrounds, poor contrast, and/or considerable noise. Current optical character recognition (OCR) and document analysis technology do not handle such documents well. We have developed a simple yet effective algorithm for document image clean-up and binarization. The algorithm consists of two basic steps. In the first step, the input image is smoothed using a low-pass filter. The smoothing operation enhances the text relative to any background texture. This is because background texture normally has higher frequency than text does. The smoothing operation also removes speckle noise. In the second step, the intensity histogram of the smoothed image is computed and a threshold automatically selected as follows. For black text, the first peak of the histogram corresponds to text. Thresholding the image at the value of the valley between the first and second peaks of the histogram binarizes the image well. In order to reliably identify the valley, the histogram is smoothed by a low-pass filter before the threshold is computed. The algorithm has been applied to some 50 images from a wide variety of source: digitized video frames, photos, newspapers, advertisements in magazines or sales flyers, personal checks, etc. There are 21820 characters and 4406 words in these images. 91 percent of the characters and 86 percent of the words are successfully cleaned up and binarized. A commercial OCR was applied to the binarized text when it consisted of fonts which were OCR recognizable. The recognition rate was 84 percent for the characters and 77 percent for the words.

This report presents the results of a study into some operations and technical issues likely to be encountered when planning for high-speed rail passenger service on corridors that presently carry freight or commuter traffic. The study starts with a review of corridors designated under Section 1010 of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991, a potential future high-speed corridors. After a review of signal, train control and braking systems presently used in the United States and elsewhere, the study provides analyses of the safety and operations impacts of introducing high-speed rail service on the hypothetical corridor. The safety analysis established a safety performance target based on present intercity rail safety performance, and reviewed the need for and benefits from safety improvements for high speed operation. The operations analysis concentrated on the impacts on track capacity and train delays of introducing a high-speed rail service on three hypothetical existing corridors with different track layouts and signal systems.

A new, fully-automated process has been developed at NIST to derive ground truth for document images. The method involves matching optical character recognition (OCR) results from a page with typesetting files for an entire book. Public domain software used to derive the ground truth is provided in the form of Perl scripts and C source code, and includes new, more efficient string alignment technology and a word- level scoring package. With this ground truthing technology, it is now feasible to produce much larger data sets, at much lower cost, than was ever possible with previous labor- intensive, manual data collection projects. Using this method, NIST has produced a new document image database for evaluating Document Analysis and Recognition technologies and Information Retrieval systems. The database produced contains scanned images, SGML-tagged ground truth text, commercial OCR results, and image quality assessment results for pages published in the 1994 Federal Register. These data files are useful in a wide variety of experiments and research. There were roughly 250 issues, comprised of nearly 69,000 pages, published in the Federal Register in 1994. This volume of the database contains the pages of 20 books published in January of that year. In all, there are 4711 page images provided, with 4519 of them having corresponding ground truth. This volume is distributed on two ISO-9660 CD- ROMs. Future volumes may be released, depending on the level of interest.

Waste characterization and monitoring are major activities in the management of waste from generation through storage and treatment to disposal. Adequate waste characterization is necessary to ensure safe storage, selection of appropriate and effective treatment, and adherence to disposal standards. For some wastes characterization objectives can be difficult and costly to achieve. The purpose of this document is to evaluate costs of characterizing one such waste type, mixed (hazardous and radioactive) waste. For the purpose of this document, waste characterization includes treatment system monitoring, where monitoring is a supplement or substitute for waste characterization. This document establishes a cost baseline for mixed waste characterization and treatment system monitoring requirements from which to evaluate alternatives. The cost baseline established as part of this work includes costs for a thermal treatment technology (i.e., a rotary kiln incinerator), a nonthermal treatment process (i.e., waste sorting, macronencapsulation, and catalytic wet oxidation), and no treatment (i.e., disposal of waste at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)). The analysis of improvement over the baseline includes assessment of promising areas for technology development in front-end waste characterization, process equipment, off gas controls, and monitoring. Based on this assessment, an ideal characterization and monitoring configuration is described that minimizes costs and optimizes resources required for waste characterization.

We offer a preliminary report on a research program to investigate versatile algorithms for document image content extraction, that is locating regions containing handwriting, machine-print text, graphics, line-art, logos, photographs, noise, etc. To solve this problem in its full generality requires coping with a vast diversity of document and image types. Automatically trainable methods are highly desirable, as well as extremely high speed in order to process large collections. Significant obstacles include the expense of preparing correctly labeled ("ground-truthed") samples, unresolved methodological questions in specifying the domain (e.g. what is a representative collection of document images?), and a lack of consensus among researchers on how to evaluate content-extraction performance. Our research strategy emphasizes versatility first: that is, we concentrate at the outset on designing methods that promise to work across the broadest possible range of cases. This strategy has several important implications: the classifiers must be trainable in reasonable time on vast data sets; and expensive ground-truthed data sets must be complemented by amplification using generative models. These and other design and architectural issues are discussed. We propose a trainable classification methodology that marries k-d trees and hash-driven table lookup and describe preliminary experiments.

Hospice care has had an impact at many levels--on individual patients and families, on the health care industry, and on society. However, no comprehensive body of evidence has been generated that documents the impact of hospice care in terms that are meaningful to competitors, referral sources, and consumers. In part, this is because of the many challenges for evaluating hospice care. This paper describes recent efforts in the documentation of the value of hospice which have focused on outcomes measurement by individual providers rather than on large scale studies. Several groups are working to develop reliable measurement tools, to support standardized measurement in large numbers of hospices, and to collect information for benchmarking and comparison. Measurement of the impact of hospice care will set standards for other providers of end-of-life care and will document the expertise and knowledge of hospice professionals. Once established as centers of excellence in care of the dying, hospices will be well positioned for whatever delivery models may evolve for end-of-life care. PMID:10839010

The Decal Process Document and Catalog, JSC 27260 is the standard flight decal catalog, complete with illustrations and part numbers. As hardware developers identify labels that have common applicability across end items, these labels can be evaluated for "standard decal classification" and entered into the decal catalog for general use. The hardware developer must have a label design that meets current, applicable labeling requirements, and submit to the Decal Design and Production Facility (DDPF) as a standard label candidate. Upon approval, the label will be added to the decal catalog. The Decal Process Document and Catalog provides a selection of decals from which the NASA and NASA contractor customers can easily order. The decals shown in the catalog have been previously produced and have released engineering/fabrication drawings on file in the (DDPF). A released drawing is required before a decal can be produced or placed into the catalog. Some decals included in the catalog have a common applicability and are used in various NASA vehicles/habitats. It is the intent of the DDPF to maintain this catalog as a "living document" to which decals/placards can be added as they are repeatedly used. The advantage of identifYing flight decals in this catalog is that a released drawing is already in place, and the products will be flight certified.

This study assessed the utility of document prevalence and familiarity as predictors of adult document literacy performance. Three indexes--quantifying document prevalence, document familiarity, and the frequency of document use--were constructed using survey responses from an adult community sample and documents collected from government agencies…

The road blocks and mental blocks in areas where automation is not taking care of basic documentation problems are discussed. Original project documentation, documentation for project maintenance, and comparison of preliminary and final documentation are described. The use of flow charts is also mentioned.

Considers how the order of documents in information retrieval responses are determined and introduces a method that uses a probabilistic model of a document set where documents are regarded as states of a Markov chain and where transition probabilities are directly proportional to similarities between documents. (Author/LRW)

Some routine supervisory functions performed automatically. Program Management Facility (PMF) computer program integrated software-development and control system. Applicable to large software systems involving as many as several hundred programmers and one million lines of codes, it ensures timely and orderly planning, development, implementation, and documentation of software. Designed as support tool. Has many features providing efficient processing and utilization of space for development programmer. Incorporates security system to prevent improper maintenance. Provides full set of cross-referenced reports and supervisory functions for detailed management information. Written in assembler. IBM program TSO required.

US DOE has forged a partnership with the American Bankers Association, the US League of Savings Associations, and the National League of Savings and Loans to develop training materials for senior financial institution officials, loan officers and staff appraisers in the area of energy efficient considerations at the residential time of transfer. Also, training materials will be developed to enable financial institutions to educate their customers regarding residential energy efficiency. To reach this goal, the lending process must be documented to provide training material developers with an understanding of possible areas where the lending process can be most effected by energy education. Objective of this report was to document the mortgage lending process by conducting a literature search. Researchers concentrated on the role of both primary lenders and the secondary mortgage market. Also, studies were made on the types of mortgage plans, linkages between major actors (e.g., real estate agents, appraisers, senior bank officials, loan officers), guarantors (e.g., FHA, VA), and mortgage variations due to region and building type and owner.

The SRS Ecology Environmental Information Document (EEID) provides a source of information on the ecology of Savannah River Site (SRS). The SRS is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)--owned property on the upper Atlantic Coastal Plain of South Carolina, centered approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of Augusta, Georgia. The entire site was designated a National Environmental Research Park in 1972 by the Atomic Energy Commission, the predecessor of DOE. This document summarizes and synthesizes ecological research and monitoring conducted on the three main types of ecosystems found at SRS: terrestrial, wetland and aquatic. It also summarizes the available information on the threatened and endangered species found on the Savannah River Site. SRS is located along the Savannah River and encompasses an area of 80,267 hectares (310 square miles) in three South Carolina counties. It contains diverse habitats, flora, and fauna. Habitats include upland terrestrial areas, wetlands, streams, reservoirs, and the adjacent Savannah River. These diverse habitats support a variety of plants and animals, including many commercially or recreationally valuable species and several rare, threatened, or endangered species. Soils are the basic terrestrial resource, influencing the development of terrestrial biological communities. Many different soils exist on the SRS, from hydric to well-drained, and from sand to clay. In general, SRS soils are predominantly well-drained loamy sands.

Although the FITS file format[1] can be self-documenting, human intervention is often needed to read the headers to write the necessary transformations to make a given instrument team's data compatible with our preferred analysis package. External documentation may be needed to determine what the values are of coded values or unfamiliar acronyms.Different communities have interpreted keywords slightly differently. This has resulted in ambiguous fields such as DATE-OBS, which could be either the start or mid-point of an observation.[2]Conventions for placing units and additional information within the comments of a FITS card exist, but they require re-writing the FITS file. This operation can be quite costly for large archives, and should not be taken lightly when dealing with issues of digital preservation.We present what we believe is needed for a machine-actionable external file describing a given collection of FITS files. We seek comments from data producers, archives, and those writing software to help develop a single, useful, implementable standard.References:[1] Pence, et.al. 2010, http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201015362[2] Rots, et.al, (in preparation), http://hea-www.cfa.harvard.edu arots/TimeWCS/

The computer program NACL incorporates the empirical model of the thermodynamic properties of the system NaCl-H/sub 2/O recently published by Pitzer et al. NACL is derived from the research codes used by Pitzer et al. to analyze the experimental data and fix the parameters in their model. NACL calculates values for all thermodynamic properties which are identical to values tabulated in Ref. 1. NACL is written in VAX/VMS FORTRAN, and was developed on a VAX 8600 computer. Machine specific features have been avoided, and NACL should require few changes to compile and run with other compilers and computers. A sample output and full code listing of NACL are appended to this document. For one year following the publication of this document, the code will be made available to interested users on 5.25'' floppy diskette in MS-DOS 2.11 format. Please send a formatted diskette and a stamped, self-addressed mailer to Oleh Weres, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, 50E, Berkeley, CA 94720. Please put your name and address on the diskette.

The Clinical Document Architecture, introduced by Health Level Seven, is a XML-based standard intending to specify the encoding, structure, and semantics of clinical documents for exchange. Since the clinical document is in XML form, its authenticity and integrity could be guaranteed by the use of the XML signature published by W3C. While a clinical document wants to conceal some personal or private information, the document needs to be redacted. It makes the signed signature of the original clinical document not be verified. The redactable signature is thus proposed to enable verification for the redacted document. Only a little research does the implementation of the redactable signature, and there still not exists an appropriate scheme for the clinical document. This paper will investigate the existing web-technologies and find a compact and applicable model to implement a suitable redactable signature for the clinical document viewer. PMID:21181244

Electronic documents have gained wide acceptance due to the ease of editing and sharing of information. However, paper documents are still widely used in many environments. Moving into a paperless and distributed office has become a major goal for document image research. A new approach for form document representation is presented. This approach allows for electronic document sharing over the World Wide Web (WWW) using Extensible Markup Language (XML) technologies. Each document is mapped into three different views, an XML view to represent the preprinted and filled-in data, an XSL (Extensible style Sheets) view to represent the structure of the document, and a DTD (Document Type Definition) view to represent the document grammar and field constraints. The XML and XSL views are generated from a document template, either automatically using image processing techniques, or semi-automatically with minimal user interaction. The DTD representation may be fixed for general documents or may be generated semi-automatically by mining a number of filled-in document examples. Document templates need to be entered once to create the proposed representation. Afterwards, documents may be displayed, updated, or shared over the web. The merits of this approach are demonstrated using a number of examples of widely used forms.

The purpose of this facility description document (FDD) is to establish requirements and associated bases that drive the design of the Canister Handling Facility (CHF), which will allow the design effort to proceed to license application. This FDD will be revised at strategic points as the design matures. This FDD identifies the requirements and describes the facility design, as it currently exists, with emphasis on attributes of the design provided to meet the requirements. This FDD is an engineering tool for design control; accordingly, the primary audience and users are design engineers. This FDD is part of an iterative design process. It leads the design process with regard to the flowdown of upper tier requirements onto the facility. Knowledge of these requirements is essential in performing the design process. The FDD follows the design with regard to the description of the facility. The description provided in this FDD reflects the current results of the design process.

In recent years conservation of electric power has become an integral part of utility planning. The 1980 Pacific Northwest Electric Power Planning and Conservation Act (Northwest Power Act) requires that the region consider conservation potential in planning acquisitions of resources to meet load growth. The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) developed its first estimates of conservation potential in 1982. Since that time BPA has updated its conservation supply analyses as a part of its Resource Program and other planning efforts. Major updates were published in 1985 and in January 1990. This 1992 document presents updated supply curves, which are estimates of the savings potential over time (cumulative savings) at different cost levels of energy conservation measures (ECMs). ECMs are devices, pieces of equipment, or actions that increase the efficiency of electricity use and reduce the amount of electricity used by end-use equipment.

Familial combined hyperlipidemia (FCH) is a frequent disorder associated with premature coronary artery disease. It is transmitted in an autosomal dominant manner, although there is not a unique gene involved. The diagnosis is performed using clinical criteria, and variability in lipid phenotype and family history of hyperlipidemia are necessaries. Frequently, the disorder is associated with type2 diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension and central obesity. Patients with FCH are considered as high cardiovascular risk and the lipid target is an LDL-cholesterol <100mg/dL, and <70mg/dL if cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes are present. Patients with FCH require lipid lowering treatment using potent statins and sometimes, combined lipid-lowering treatment. Identification and management of other cardiovascular risk factors as type 2 diabetes and hypertension are fundamental to reduce cardiovascular disease burden. This document gives recommendations for the diagnosis and global treatment of patients with FCH directed to specialists and general practitioners. PMID:25131181

Familial combined hyperlipidemia (FCH) is a frequent disorder associated with premature coronary artery disease. It is transmitted in an autosomal dominant manner, although there is not a unique gene involved. The diagnosis is performed using clinical criteria, and variability in lipid phenotype and family history of hyperlipidemia are necessaries. Frequently, the disorder is associated with type2 diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension and central obesity. Patients with FCH are considered as high cardiovascular risk and the lipid target is an LDL-cholesterol <100mg/dL, and <70mg/dL if cardiovascular disease or type 2 diabetes are present. Patients with FCH require lipid lowering treatment using potent statins and sometimes, combined lipid-lowering treatment. Identification and management of other cardiovascular risk factors as type 2 diabetes and hypertension are fundamental to reduce cardiovascular disease burden. This document gives recommendations for the diagnosis and global treatment of patients with FCH directed to specialists and general practitioners. PMID:25034722

The PORFLOW software package is a comprehensive mathematical model for simulation of multi-phase fluid flow, heat transfer and mass transport in variably saturated porous and fractured media. PORFLOW can simulate transient or steady-state problems in Cartesian or cylindrical geometry. The porous medium may be anisotropic and heterogeneous and may contain discrete fractures or boreholes with the porous matrix. The theoretical models within the code provide a unified treatment of concepts relevant to fluid flow and transport. The main features of PORFLOW that are relevant to Performance Assessment modeling at the Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) include variably saturated flow and transport of parent and progeny radionuclides. This document involves testing a relevant sample of problems in PORFLOW and comparing the outcome of the simulations to analytical solutions or other commercial codes. The testing consists of the following four groups. Group 1: Groundwater Flow; Group 2: Contaminant Transport; Group 3: Numerical Dispersion; and Group 4: Keyword Commands.

We report methodologies for computing high-recall masks for document image content extraction, that is, the location and segmentation of regions containing handwriting, machine-printed text, photographs, blank space, etc. The resulting segmentation is pixel-accurate, which accommodates arbitrary zone shapes (not merely rectangles). We describe experiments showing that iterated classifiers can increase recall of all content types, with little loss of precision. We also introduce two methodological enhancements: (1) a multi-stage voting rule; and (2) a scoring policy that views blank pixels as a "don't care" class with other content classes. These enhancements improve both recall and precision, achieving at least 89% recall and at least 87% precision among three content types: machine-print, handwriting, and photo.

In December 1982 DOE-SR directed SRL to study the feasibility and impact of a program to lower the U-236 content of the Highly Enriched Uranium (HEU) stockpile used as fuel for the SRP reactors. In response to this request SRL assessed four technologies, Atomic Vapor Laser Isotope Separation (AVLIS), Molecular Laser Isotope Separation (MLIS), Gas Centrifuge, and the Plasma Separation Process (PSP) for this purpose with the assistance of the Engineering Department. In April 1983 cost/benefit analyses for these processes, high spot cost estimates for production facilities, and process uncertainties were submitted to DOE-SR with a recommendation to proceed with the conceptual design and supporting development programs for a facility based on the use of the PSP process. The current program status for the PSP development program at SRL and the design and documentation of a production facility at SRP, referred to as the Fuel Improvement Demonstration Facility (FIDF), is described in this report.

In the forensics and investigative science fields there may arise the need of reconstructing documents which have been destroyed by means of a shredder. In a computer-based reconstruction, the pieces are described by numerical features, which represent the visual content of the strips. Usually, the pieces of different pages have been mixed. We propose an approach for the reconstruction which performs a first clustering on the strips to ease the successive matching, be it manual (with the help of a computer) or automatic. A number of features, extracted by means of image processing algorithms, have been selected for this aim. The results show the effectiveness of the features and of the proposed clustering algorithm.

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is developing an automated system to produce bibliographic records for its MEDLINER database. This system, named Medical Article Record System (MARS), employs document image analysis and understanding techniques and optical character recognition (OCR). This paper describes a key module in MARS called the Automated Labeling (AL) module, which labels all zones of interest (title, author, affiliation, and abstract) automatically. The AL algorithm is based on 120 rules that are derived from an analysis of journal page layouts and features extracted from OCR output. Experiments carried out on more than 11,000 articles in over 1,000 biomedical journals show the accuracy of this rule-based algorithm to exceed 96%.

This volume is one in a series of Sandia Software Guidelines intended for use in producing quality software within Sandia National Laboratories. In consonance with the IEEE Standards for software documentation, this volume provides guidance in the selection of an adequate document set for a software project and example formats for many types of software documentation. A tutorial on life cycle documentation is also provided. Extended document thematic outlines and working examples of software documents are available on electronic media as an extension of this volume.

The amount of documents increases so fast. Those documents exist not only in a paper based but also in an electronic based. It can be seen from the data sample taken by the SpringerLink publisher in 2010, which showed an increase in the number of digital document collections from 2003 to mid of 2010. Then, how to manage them well becomes an important need. This paper describes a new method in managing documents called as inverted files system. Related with the electronic based document, the inverted files system will closely used in term of its usage to document so that it can be searched over the Internet using the Search Engine. It can improve document search mechanism and document save mechanism.

Southeast Regional Data Center (SERDAC) has an operational Information Documentation and Control System that provides the documentation and control necessary for SERDAC to implement an organizational data base to support its many applications. (Author)

... documents that may be included. Ink must be dark enough to provide substantial contrast for scanning and... spreadsheets are not susceptible to scanning, but oversized documents, such as oversized maps and...

... documents that may be included. Ink must be dark enough to provide substantial contrast for scanning and... spreadsheets are not susceptible to scanning, but oversized documents, such as oversized maps and...

... documents that may be included. Ink must be dark enough to provide substantial contrast for scanning and... spreadsheets are not susceptible to scanning, but oversized documents, such as oversized maps and...

The Cardiovascular Fitness and Rehabilitation Program of Sinai Hospital of Detroit implemented an exercise compliance data documentation system in 1984 which is used in its outpatient gymnasium cardiac fitness and rehabilitation program. This documentation system is described. (MT)

This document presents the occurrence, health effects and effects of water treatment on the bacterium. The document was developed in support of the unregulated contaminants and the Total Coliform Rule.

Over the last century forensic document science has developed progressively more sophisticated pattern recognition methodologies for ascertaining the authorship of disputed documents. These include advances not only in computer assisted stylometrics, but forensic handwriting analysis. We present a writer verification method and an evaluation of an actual historical document written by an unknown writer. The questioned document is compared against two known handwriting samples of Herman Melville, a 19th century American author who has been hypothesized to be the writer of this document. The comparison led to a high confidence result that the questioned document was written by the same writer as the known documents. Such methodology can be applied to many such questioned documents in historical writing, both in literary and legal fields.

This manual defines the Project Document Control System (PDCS) operated by the US DOE Uranium Mill tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) project Office. The purpose of the PDCS is to provide an active and continuing program for acquiring, controlling, retaining, retrieving, retiring and disposing of all UMTRA Project documents. The PDCS also provides guidance and coordination in transferring documents by various UMTRA Projection document control centers to a central location.

This document supports the Tank Farms Documented Safety Analysis and presents the technical basis for the frequencies of externally initiated accidents. The consequences of externally initiated events are discussed in other documents that correspond to the accident that was caused by the external event. The external events include aircraft crash, vehicle accident, range fire, and rail accident.